Chovos Halvavos is often thought of as the sefer about bitachon. But it is much more: a profound and comprehensive system of thought that has guided Klal Yisroel for nearly a thousand years. In this series, we will attempt to understand and absorb that system as we make our way through the sefer.

Chovos Halvavos discusses the various forms of wisdom — one of the great gifts bestowed upon us by Hashem. But he places special emphasis on what he calls “Divine Wisdom.” Torah isn’t merely something to know; our minds and understanding themselves must become part of our service to Hashem. In the podcast, we mentioned a story about this idea. Check out the latest article on the Toras Avigdor Blog to read the story.

Chovos Halvavos identifies three gateways to Divine Wisdom: the human intellect, the Written Torah, and the teachings of Chazal. We discover what made Rav Moshe Feinstein’s daas Torah so pure, and are introduced to the fundamental distinction between the duties of our limbs and the hidden duties of our hearts.

Chovos Halvavos explains an important difference between the duties of our limbs and the duties of our hearts. Some physical mitzvos make perfect sense to us, while others we observe simply because Hashem commanded them. The duties of the heart, however, are entirely rooted in understanding — and unlike physical actions, they have no limits. We also begin exploring the great inner obligations that will accompany us throughout the sefer: emunah, bitachon, humility, awe, love of Hashem, and living with the awareness that He is always watching.