Abstract

This paper analyzes the discussions of the emotion of anger in medieval Jewish devotional literature, particularly as summarized and interpreted in the 16th century ethical-mystical treatise "Reshit Hochma" by Elijah de Vidas. Among the issues considered are the causes of human anger, its moral and theological status, its relationship to broad dispositions of character and religious attitudes, and affective, cognitive and behavioral methods for controlling it. The paper also notes the tension and even conflict, explicit or implicit, between the attitudes of Jewish law and those of Jewish devotional literature towards material possessions and the acceptance of economic misfortune.