In 1937, a gathering of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Great Leaders of Torah) at the Slabodka Yeshiva felt the necessity to bolster ethical integrity and spiritual awareness. After much deliberation, Sefer Cheshbon Hanefesh (The Book of Spiritual Accounting) was finally selected over The Book of Proverbs with explanations by Rabbanu Yona z'tl, and steps were taken toward its reissue. In a similar spirit, we present this adaptation of a portion of the original, as a systematic approach to practical character improvement.

        The necessity of doing a cheshbon hanefesh (spiritual accounting) was most eloquently articulated by the saintly, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato in his classic work, The Path of the Just.

"In reality, this is one of the clever devices of the evil inclination - to mount pressure unrelentingly against the hearts of men so as to leave them no leisure to consider and observe the type of life they are leading. For it realizes that if they were to devote even a slight degree of attention to their ways, there is no question but that they would immediately begin to repent of their deeds and that regret would wax in them until they would leave off sinning altogether. ( Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, Mesilat Yesharim. Translated by Shraga Silverstein, 2d rev. ed., Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1966, p 31.)

To summarize, a man should observe all of his actions and watch over all of his ways so as not to leave himself with a bad habit or a bad trait, let alone a sin or a crime. I see a need for a person to carefully examine his ways and to weigh them daily in the manner of the great merchants who constantly evaluate all of their undertakings so that they do not miscarry. He should set aside definite times and hours for this weighing so that it is not a fortuitous matter, but one which is conducted with the greatest regularity; for it yields rich returns. ( Ibid., pg. 37)

What emerges from all this is that a man must constantly - at all times, and particularly during a regularly appointed time of solitude - reflect upon the true path (according to the ordinance of the Torah) that a man must walk upon. After engaging in such a reflection he will come to consider whether or not his deed travel along this path. For in doing so it will certainly be easy for him to cleanse himself of all evil and to correct all of his ways. As Scripture states (Proverbs 4:26) , Consider the path of your feet and all of your paths will be established and (Lamentations 3:40) , Let us seek out our ways and examine them, and we will return return to G-d.” ( ibid., page 43)

        From the words of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, ztl, it is resoundingly clear that spiritual accounting is an essential and indispensable component of successful Torah living.

        Unfortunately many people who are sincerely impressed with the necessity of spiritual accounting fail to engage in it. Some have no idea how to go about it. Others have a concept of what needs to be done but employ it only sporadically. Still others may even possess a system but fail because of the classical difficulty that plagues all good things - simply getting started.

        This adaptation, drawn mainly from the well known work on spiritual accounting, Sefer Cheshbon Hanefesh, is an attempt to help people overcome the aforementioned difficulties. In the following pages we will, with the help of HaShem, explain how to:

I. Select the proper attributes for your analysis.
II. Understand the charts used for recording your actions on a daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly basis.
III. Prepare yourself mentally for the work.
IV. Carry out and record the results.

With the additional help of classic ethical training texts, available to everyone, the reader, with the help of G-d, can begin his spiritual analysis immediately.

        Our thanks is extended to all who participated in this project. We are also grateful to Mr. Yacov Feldheim of Feldheim Publishers who graciously granted us permission to use paragraphs from Shraga Silverstein's translation of Mesilat Yesharim.

        We are grateful to the following persons for their generous assistance in helping this book come into existence.