The Hebrew term sifrut ha-musar ("ethical literature") can be defined either very explicitly or in a general way. In a more proscribed sense it is a well-defined literary genre; the works belonging to it are easily recognizable because each chapter in these books deals with a specific religious and theological subject—belief in the unity of God, trust in God, repentance, fear and love of God, and so forth. The classical examples of books in this genre begin with Bahye ibn Paquda's Ḥovot ha-levavot (The duties of the heart) in the eleventh century and include Mosheh Ḥayyim Luzzatto's Mesillat yesharim (The path of the righteous) in the eighteenth century. In addition to the few dozen books written in this manner are some other minor genres, namely, sifrut ha-tsavvaʾot ("ethical wills") and various monographs on subjects such as repentance.

In its broader meaning, the...