SEFER HASIDIM

also spelled Sepher Hasidim (Hebrew: Book of the Pious), a highly valuable account of the day-to-day religious life of medieval German Jews known as Hasidim (Pious Ones). The authentic Hasid is described in terms of asceticism, humility, serenity, altruism, and strict ethical behaviour. Though the work is nonsystematic, it presents the combined teachings of the three leaders of German Hasidism during the 12th and 13th centuries: Samuel the Hasid, Judah the Hasid of Regensburg (his son), and Eleazar ben Judah of Worms. The book was intended as a religious guide.