Notser hesed to Avot (Preserving Mercy [Commentary to Ethics of the Fathers])

Isaac Judah Yehiel (Yitsḥak Yehudah Yeḥi’el) Safrin was the first rebbe of the Komarno dynasty of Hasidism, based in the town of that name in Galicia and an offshoot of the Zhidachov dynasty. He attracted thousands of followers upon the death of his uncle (Zvi Hirsh of Zhidachov) in 1831, with whom he studied and by whom he was raised after his father’s passing in 1818. Deeply inspired by Kabbalah and early Hasidic philosophy, he wrote prolifically, expounding on the Torah, Mishnah, Jewish law, and the Zohar. Among these works was Notser ḥesed, a commentary on Pirke avot (an excerpt is included in this volume). At one point, he hinted that he might be the Messiah.