[Mesorah] Shaarei Yashar or Shaarei Yosher?

[Micha Berger via Mesorah]

On Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 01:13:23PM -0400, Zev Sero via Mesorah wrote:
: Why do you translate "yosher" here as "honesty"?   In what way does
: this gate lead to honesty?  It's not a mussar sefer.  It seems to me
: far more likely that "yosher" is meant here literally; the sefer
: teaches the student how to think straight.

Read the intro. Rav Shimon has a very humanistic hashkafah. Leshitaso,
and I say this not just based on the haqdamah but also via more than
two years of 2nd hand reports from R' Dovid Lifshitz, all of halakhah
is a mussar seifer.

You make him sound Maimonidian!

As for it being a moral judgment: we have Tzadiq veYashar Hu, Hatov
vehayashas be'eini H' (both from Devarim), ish hayashar bei'einav
ya'aseh, etc...

I could see defining yosher as honesty, or -- in the context of "yishrei
leiv" in particular -- as idealism. ("... Uleyishrei leiv, simchah.")
But "upright"

In any case "y-sh-r" in the title was chosen because it is his parents
initials -- Yitzchaq Shemu'el and Rachel, as well as a reference to his
own name. He doesn't spell out how, but I'm guessing it's reverse-order
rashei teivos for Reb Shimon Yehudah.

SO, the title might not match the topic too closely.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

PS: I plan on putting my name in the title of my first seifer, by using
the most famous idiom that includes it. <grin>
http://j.mp/1JgQZZy

-- 
Micha Berger             You will never "find" time for anything.
micha at aishdas.org        If you want time, you must make it.
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