Mussar movement
Encyclopedia
The Musar movement is a Jewish
ethical
, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, particularly among Orthodox
Lithuanian Jews
. The Hebrew
term Musar (מוּסַר), is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct. The term was used by the Musar movement to refer to efforts to further ethical and spiritual discipline. The Musar Movement made significant contributions to Jewish ethics
.
Orthodox
Lithuanian Jews, and became a trend in their yeshivas. The movement's founding is attributed to Rabbi
Yisrael Lipkin Salanter (1810–1883), although the roots of the movements drew on ideas previously expressed in classical Musar literature
. Prior to the founding of the Musar movement, musar was a practice of the solitary seeker; thanks to Salanter, it became the basis for a popular social/spiritual movement.
, Lithuania, was initially inspired to dedicate his life to the cause of spreading Musar by his teacher Rabbi Yosef Zundel Salant
(1786–1866). Zundel Salant was a student of Rabbis Chaim Volozhin
and Akiva Eiger whose profoundly good-hearted and humble behavior and simple lifestyle attracted Yisrael Salanter's interest, and Zundel Salant allegedly urged Salanter to focus himself on Musar.
Widely recognized as a rabbi of exceptional talent, Yisrael Salanter became head of a yeshivah in Vilna
, where he quickly became well known in the community for his scholarship. He soon resigned this post to open up his own Yeshiva at the which he emphasized moral teachings based on the ethics taught in traditional Jewish rabbinic works, especially Musar literature. Salanter referred to his approach as the Musar approach, using the Hebrew word for ethical discipline or correction.
In seeking to encourage the study of Musar literature, Salanter had three works of Musar literature republished in Vilna: Mesillat Yesharim
by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
, Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh by Solomon ibn Gabirol
, and Chesbon Ha-Nefesh by Menachem Mendel Lefin
.
He put a special focus on teaching Jewish business ethics
, teaching that just as one checks carefully to make sure his food is kosher, so too should one check to see if his money is earned in a kosher fashion.
Rabbi Salanter set an example for the Lithuanian Jewish community during the cholera epidemic of 1848, making sure that necessary relief work on Shabbat
for Jews was done by Jews (despite the ordinary prohibition against doing work on Shabbat), and ordering Jews whose lives were in danger to eat rather than fast on the fast day of Yom Kippur
.
In 1848, the Czarist government created the Vilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary
. Salanter was identified as a candidate to teach at the school, but he refused the position and, fearing backlash, he left Vilna.
Salanter moved to Kovno, where he established a Musar-focused yeshiva at the Nevyozer Kloiz, with a student body of approximately 150 students.
In 1857 he moved to Germany, By this time his own students from Kovno had begun to set up their own yeshivot in Kelme
, Telz
, and elsewhere. Salanter later helped to found another institution himself, the Kovno Kollel
.
In Germany, Salanter began publication of a periodical entitled Tevunah dedicated in part to Musar. Many of Rabbi Salanter's articles from Tevunah were collected and published in Imrei Binah (1878). His Iggeret ha-Musar ("ethical letter") was first published in 1858 and then repeatedly thereafter. Many of his letters were published in Or Yisrael, "The Light of Israel," in 1890 (edited by Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer
). Many of his discourses were published in Even Yisrael (1883).
Salanter also wrote an essay, "An Essay on the Topic of Reinforcing those who Learn our Holy Torah
," published in a collection of essays entitled "Etz Peri." This essay is especially important because the concept of the subconscious
appears in the it, well before concept was popularized by Sigmund Freud
. In Salanter's essay, the concept of conscious ("outer" [chitzoniut]) and subconscious ("inner" [penimiut]) processes and the role they play in the psychological, emotional and moral functioning of man are developed. Salanter explains that it is critical for a person to recognize what his subconscious motivations [negiot] are and to work on understanding them. He also teaches that the time for a person to work on not allowing improper subconscious impulses to affect him was during times of emotional quiet, when a person is more in control of his thoughts and feelings. Salanter stresses that when a person is experiencing an acute emotional response to an event, he is not necessarily in control of his thoughts and faculties and will not have access to the calming perspectives necessary to allow his conscious mind to intercede.
Scholar Hillel Goldberg and others have described Salanter as a "psychologist" as well as a moralist.
, directed yeshivas in Kelm and Grobin. His disciple Yitzchak Blazer
became the chief rabbi of St. Petersburg in 1861-2, and later led the Kovno kollel
. Blazer was also responsible for publishing many of Salanter's writings. A third leading disciple of Salanter's, Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam, became the chief rabbi of Helsinki
.
of Slobodka, and Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz of Novaradok. The schools founded by these two men became the largest and most influential schools of Musar. The Slobodka school founded by Finkel became especially influential, but the Novaradok school also gained a significant following.
Louis Jacobs has described the difference between these two schools as follows:
movement among many European Jews. In this period of history anti-Semitism
, assimilation of many Jews into Christianity, poverty, and the poor living conditions of many Jews in the Pale of Settlement
caused severe tension and disappointment. Many of the institutions of Lithuanian Jewry were beginning to break up. Many religious Jews felt that their way of life was slipping away from them, observance of traditional Jewish law and custom
was on the decline, and what they felt was worst of all, many of those who remained loyal to the tradition were losing their emotional connection to the tradition's inner meaning and ethical core.
community. Many opposed the new educational system that Yisrael Salanter set up, and others charged that deviations from traditional methods would lead to assimilation no less surely than the path of classic German Reform Judaism
.
In 1897, Eliezer Gordon
of the Telshe yeshiva
hired a new Musar supervisor, Rabbi Leib Chasman, who instituted a very strict Musar regime in the yeshiva. Many of the students opposed this approach, which caused dissent among the student body. At the same time, dissent against Musar also broke out at the Slobodka Yeshiva. A group of Lithuanian rabbis then published a declaration in the Hebrew newspaper Ha-Melitz in opposition to the study of Musar. According to the YIVO
Encyclopedia,
Musar practices include text study, meditation, silence and retreat, diary practices, chanting, contemplations, visualization, and doing actions on behalf of others. One of the central practices of the Musar movement was studying and meditating on classical Musar literature. Classics of Musar literature which were greatly valued by the Musar movement included:
Salanter recommended studying musar literature in a group. In one passage he spoke of meeting for study on the Sabbath:
Some students of the Musar movement, however, settled in the land of Israel and established Musar yeshivas there.
While many former students of the Musar movement settled in the United States and were involved in a variety of Jewish institutions, they established no formal institutions dedicated to Musar during the 20th century.
Many traditional yeshivas throughout the world, however, continued to allot some time during the week for Musar, and this continues today. This time is often dedicated to the study of Musar literature
.
Within the Orthodox community, the AishDas Society, founded by Rabbi Micha Berger, and the Salant Foundation, founded by Rabbi Zvi Miller, are organizations which organize Musar groups, classes and other teaching events. Elyakim Krumbain and Avi Fertig are Orthodox rabbis who have also published books which teach Musar from an Orthodox perspective.
To the surprise of some, much of the contemporary revival of Musar has taken place among non-Orthodox Jews. The Musar Institute, founded by Alan Morinis
, and the Mussar Leadership Program, founded by Rabbi Ira F. Stone
, are among the institutions which have sought to spread the practice of Musar in a non-Orthodox framework. Morinis' book Everyday Holiness (2007) and Stone's book A Responsible Life (2007) have been among the popular books which have sparked contemporary interest in the Musar movement. Leaders of Conservative Judaism
have debated whether Musar should stand at the center of its approach, and Musar has been described as “an emerging and growing phenomenon” within Reform Judaism
.
Some Musar groups have no connection with synagogues, but a number of synagogues have started programs for the study of Musar. For example, at Temple Chai in Chicago, Illinois, a program known as the "Sunday School for Grown-ups" has focused on the study of a different character trait each week. There are also online communities dedicated to the exploration of Musar and character trait development. For example, madrega.com, which was founded in March 2009, is a community which encourages members to share teachings, ideas and learnings about their own personal Musar practice.
Some teachers have recommended the practice of Musar not only for Jews but also among non-Jews. As the website of the Mussar Institute explains:
Contemporary works adapting the Musar movement's teachings
Contemporary efforts to revive the Musar movement
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
ethical
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, particularly among Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
. The Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
term Musar (מוּסַר), is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct. The term was used by the Musar movement to refer to efforts to further ethical and spiritual discipline. The Musar Movement made significant contributions to Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. Like other types of religious ethics, the diverse literature of Jewish ethics primarily aims to answer a broad range of moral questions and, hence, may be classified as a normative ethics...
.
Early leaders of the Musar movement
The Musar movement arose among the non-HasidicHasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Lithuanian Jews, and became a trend in their yeshivas. The movement's founding is attributed to Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Yisrael Lipkin Salanter (1810–1883), although the roots of the movements drew on ideas previously expressed in classical Musar literature
Musar literature
Musar literature is the term used for didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards perfection in a methodical way.- Definition of Musar literature :...
. Prior to the founding of the Musar movement, musar was a practice of the solitary seeker; thanks to Salanter, it became the basis for a popular social/spiritual movement.
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter
Yisrael Lipkin Salanter, a promising young rabbi with exceptional knowledge of Jewish law living in SalantaiSalantai
Salantai is a small city in Lithuania. It is located in the Klaipėda County, Kretinga district.-History:This town is known for two famed rabbis: Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter and his teacher Rabbi Zundel Salant, who spent most of his life in Salantai....
, Lithuania, was initially inspired to dedicate his life to the cause of spreading Musar by his teacher Rabbi Yosef Zundel Salant
Zundel Salant
Yoseph Zundel of Salant was an Ashkenazi rabbi, and the primary teacher of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter.- Biography :...
(1786–1866). Zundel Salant was a student of Rabbis Chaim Volozhin
Chaim Volozhin
Chaim Volozhin was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and ethicist. Popularly known as "Reb Chaim Volozhiner" or simply as "Reb Chaim", he was born in Volozhin when it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
and Akiva Eiger whose profoundly good-hearted and humble behavior and simple lifestyle attracted Yisrael Salanter's interest, and Zundel Salant allegedly urged Salanter to focus himself on Musar.
Widely recognized as a rabbi of exceptional talent, Yisrael Salanter became head of a yeshivah in Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, where he quickly became well known in the community for his scholarship. He soon resigned this post to open up his own Yeshiva at the which he emphasized moral teachings based on the ethics taught in traditional Jewish rabbinic works, especially Musar literature. Salanter referred to his approach as the Musar approach, using the Hebrew word for ethical discipline or correction.
In seeking to encourage the study of Musar literature, Salanter had three works of Musar literature republished in Vilna: Mesillat Yesharim
Mesillat Yesharim
The Mesillat Yesharim is an ethical text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto . It is quite different from Luzzato's other writings, which are more philosophical....
by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto , also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL , was a prominent Italian Jewish rabbi, kabbalist, and philosopher.-Padua:Born in Padua at night, he received classical Jewish and Italian educations, showing a...
, Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh by Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah , was an Andalucian Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher with a Neoplatonic bent. He was born in Málaga about 1021; died about 1058 in Valencia.-Biography:...
, and Chesbon Ha-Nefesh by Menachem Mendel Lefin
Menachem Mendel Lefin
Menachem Mendel Lefin was an early leader of the Haskalah movement. He was born in Satanov, Podolia, where he had a traditional Jewish education supplemented by studies in science, mathematics,and medieval philosophy. In the early 1780s he lived in Berlin, where he met Moses Mendelssohn and...
.
He put a special focus on teaching Jewish business ethics
Jewish business ethics
Jewish Business Ethics is a form of applied Jewish ethics that examines ethical issues that arise in a business environment.-Textual sources for Jewish business ethics:...
, teaching that just as one checks carefully to make sure his food is kosher, so too should one check to see if his money is earned in a kosher fashion.
Rabbi Salanter set an example for the Lithuanian Jewish community during the cholera epidemic of 1848, making sure that necessary relief work on Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
for Jews was done by Jews (despite the ordinary prohibition against doing work on Shabbat), and ordering Jews whose lives were in danger to eat rather than fast on the fast day of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
.
In 1848, the Czarist government created the Vilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary
Vilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary
The Vilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary was a controversial Russian state-sponsored institution to train Jewish teachers and rabbis, located in Vilna, Russia. The school opened in 1847 with two divisions: a rabbinical school and a teachers' seminary. The Rabbinical School was closed in...
. Salanter was identified as a candidate to teach at the school, but he refused the position and, fearing backlash, he left Vilna.
Salanter moved to Kovno, where he established a Musar-focused yeshiva at the Nevyozer Kloiz, with a student body of approximately 150 students.
In 1857 he moved to Germany, By this time his own students from Kovno had begun to set up their own yeshivot in Kelme
Kelm Talmud Torah
The Kelm Talmud Torah was a famous yeshiva in pre-holocaust Kelmė, Lithuania. Unlike other yeshivas, the Talmud Torah focused primarily on the study of Musar and self-improvement.-Under the Leadership of Simcha Zissel Ziv:...
, Telz
Telšiai
Telšiai , is a city in Lithuania with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on Lake Mastis.-Names:...
, and elsewhere. Salanter later helped to found another institution himself, the Kovno Kollel
Kovno kollel
The Kovno Kollel also known as Kollel Perushim of Kovno or Kollel Knesses Beis Yitzchok, was a kollel located in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was founded in 1877 by Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter when he was 67....
.
In Germany, Salanter began publication of a periodical entitled Tevunah dedicated in part to Musar. Many of Rabbi Salanter's articles from Tevunah were collected and published in Imrei Binah (1878). His Iggeret ha-Musar ("ethical letter") was first published in 1858 and then repeatedly thereafter. Many of his letters were published in Or Yisrael, "The Light of Israel," in 1890 (edited by Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer , also known as Reb Itzelle Peterburger, was one of the early leaders of the Musar movement, a Jewish ethical movement based in Lithuania. He was a student of the founder of the movement, Yisrael Salanter, and was responsible for publishing many of Salanter's letters in Or Yisrael...
). Many of his discourses were published in Even Yisrael (1883).
Salanter also wrote an essay, "An Essay on the Topic of Reinforcing those who Learn our Holy Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
," published in a collection of essays entitled "Etz Peri." This essay is especially important because the concept of the subconscious
Subconscious
The term subconscious is used in many different contexts and has no single or precise definition. This greatly limits its significance as a definition-bearing concept, and in consequence the word tends to be avoided in academic and scientific settings....
appears in the it, well before concept was popularized by Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
. In Salanter's essay, the concept of conscious ("outer" [chitzoniut]) and subconscious ("inner" [penimiut]) processes and the role they play in the psychological, emotional and moral functioning of man are developed. Salanter explains that it is critical for a person to recognize what his subconscious motivations [negiot] are and to work on understanding them. He also teaches that the time for a person to work on not allowing improper subconscious impulses to affect him was during times of emotional quiet, when a person is more in control of his thoughts and feelings. Salanter stresses that when a person is experiencing an acute emotional response to an event, he is not necessarily in control of his thoughts and faculties and will not have access to the calming perspectives necessary to allow his conscious mind to intercede.
Scholar Hillel Goldberg and others have described Salanter as a "psychologist" as well as a moralist.
The second generation of Musar movement leaders
After Salanter's death, the Musar movement was led by his disciples. His eldest disciple, Rabbi Simcha Zissel ZivSimcha Zissel Ziv
Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida , also known as the Alter of Kelm , was one of the foremost students of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Musar movement...
, directed yeshivas in Kelm and Grobin. His disciple Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer , also known as Reb Itzelle Peterburger, was one of the early leaders of the Musar movement, a Jewish ethical movement based in Lithuania. He was a student of the founder of the movement, Yisrael Salanter, and was responsible for publishing many of Salanter's letters in Or Yisrael...
became the chief rabbi of St. Petersburg in 1861-2, and later led the Kovno kollel
Kovno kollel
The Kovno Kollel also known as Kollel Perushim of Kovno or Kollel Knesses Beis Yitzchok, was a kollel located in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was founded in 1877 by Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter when he was 67....
. Blazer was also responsible for publishing many of Salanter's writings. A third leading disciple of Salanter's, Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam, became the chief rabbi of Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
.
The third generation of Musar movement leaders
In the following generation, leaders of the Musar movement included Simcha Zissel's student Nosson Tzvi FinkelNosson Tzvi Finkel
Nosson Tzvi Finkel may refer to one of the following roshei yeshiva in Orthodox Judaism:*Nosson Tzvi Finkel , of the Slabodka yeshiva in Kaunas, Lithuania, or his descendant,...
of Slobodka, and Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz of Novaradok. The schools founded by these two men became the largest and most influential schools of Musar. The Slobodka school founded by Finkel became especially influential, but the Novaradok school also gained a significant following.
Louis Jacobs has described the difference between these two schools as follows:
Origin of the movement
This movement began among non-Hasidic Jews as a response to the social changes brought about by The Enlightenment, and the corresponding HaskalahHaskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
movement among many European Jews. In this period of history anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, assimilation of many Jews into Christianity, poverty, and the poor living conditions of many Jews in the Pale of Settlement
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
caused severe tension and disappointment. Many of the institutions of Lithuanian Jewry were beginning to break up. Many religious Jews felt that their way of life was slipping away from them, observance of traditional Jewish law and custom
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
was on the decline, and what they felt was worst of all, many of those who remained loyal to the tradition were losing their emotional connection to the tradition's inner meaning and ethical core.
The Musar controversy
In later years some opposition to the Musar movement developed in large segments of the OrthodoxOrthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
community. Many opposed the new educational system that Yisrael Salanter set up, and others charged that deviations from traditional methods would lead to assimilation no less surely than the path of classic German Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
.
In 1897, Eliezer Gordon
Eliezer Gordon
Eliezer Gordon also known as Reb Laizer Telzer, served as the Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, Lithuania.-Early years:...
of the Telshe yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva was a famous Eastern European yeshiva founded in the Lithuanian town of Telšiai. After World War II the yeshiva relocated to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is currently known as the Rabbinical College of Telshe, It is one of the most prominent Haredi institutions of Torah...
hired a new Musar supervisor, Rabbi Leib Chasman, who instituted a very strict Musar regime in the yeshiva. Many of the students opposed this approach, which caused dissent among the student body. At the same time, dissent against Musar also broke out at the Slobodka Yeshiva. A group of Lithuanian rabbis then published a declaration in the Hebrew newspaper Ha-Melitz in opposition to the study of Musar. According to the YIVO
YIVO
YIVO, , established in 1925 in Wilno, Poland as the Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut , or Yiddish Scientific Institute, is a source for orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to the Yiddish language...
Encyclopedia,
The study and practice of Musar
The Musar Institute website explains that:Musar practices include text study, meditation, silence and retreat, diary practices, chanting, contemplations, visualization, and doing actions on behalf of others. One of the central practices of the Musar movement was studying and meditating on classical Musar literature. Classics of Musar literature which were greatly valued by the Musar movement included:
- Chovot HaLevavot, by Rabbi Bahya ibn PaqudaBahya ibn PaqudaBahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Spain, in the first half of the eleventh century...
(11th century) - Ma'alot HaMiddot, by Rabbi Yehiel ben Yekutiel Anav of Rome
- Kad HaKemah, by Rabbi Bahya ben AsherBahya ben AsherBahye ben Asher ibn Halawa also known as Rabbeinu Behaye was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism. He was a commentator on the Hebrew Bible and is noted for introducing Kabbalah into study of the Torah.He is considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the Biblical exegetes of...
, a Spanish kabbalist - Mesillat YesharimMesillat YesharimThe Mesillat Yesharim is an ethical text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto . It is quite different from Luzzato's other writings, which are more philosophical....
, and Derech Hashem, by Rabbi Moshe Chaim LuzzattoMoshe Chaim LuzzattoMoshe Chaim Luzzatto , also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL , was a prominent Italian Jewish rabbi, kabbalist, and philosopher.-Padua:Born in Padua at night, he received classical Jewish and Italian educations, showing a... - Orchot TzaddikimOrchot TzaddikimOrchot Tzaddikim is a book on Jewish ethics written in Germany in the 15th century, entitled Sefer ha-Middot by the author, but called Orḥot Ẓaddiḳim by a later copyist...
(The Ways of the Righteous), by an anonymous author - Tomer DevorahTomer DevorahTomer Devorah was written in Hebrew in the middle of the 16th century by Moses Cordovero, a Jewish kabbalist in Safed, Israel. This short text deals mostly with the Imitation of God through the acquisition of divine traits, especially those of the sephirot. The first edition was published in...
(The Palm Tree of Deborah) by Rabbi Moses ben Jacob CordoveroMoses ben Jacob CordoveroMoses ben Jacob Cordovero, , was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Israel. He is known by the acronym the Ramak.... - Shaarei Teshuvah (The Gates of Repentance) by Rabbi Yonah GerondiYonah GerondiYonah ben Abraham Gerondi , also known as Rabbenu Yonah and Yonah of Gerona, was a Catalan rabbi and moralist, cousin of Nahmanides. He is most famous for his ethical work The Gates of Repentance .- Biography :...
- Hilchot Deot by MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
(Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) - The Eight Chapters by MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
(Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) - Madreigat Ha'Adam by Rabbi Yosef Yozel Horwitz
- Cheshbon HaNefesh (Accounting of the Soul) by Rabbi Menachem Mendel LefinMenachem Mendel LefinMenachem Mendel Lefin was an early leader of the Haskalah movement. He was born in Satanov, Podolia, where he had a traditional Jewish education supplemented by studies in science, mathematics,and medieval philosophy. In the early 1780s he lived in Berlin, where he met Moses Mendelssohn and...
of Satanov (based in part on Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
's idea of the thirteen virtues) - "The Musar Letter" of the Vilna GaonVilna GaonElijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
Salanter recommended studying musar literature in a group. In one passage he spoke of meeting for study on the Sabbath:
The Musar movement after World War II
Many of the Jews involved in the Musar movement were killed in the Shoah. Hillel Goldberg has written that it was only before World War II that Musar was "still a living community."Some students of the Musar movement, however, settled in the land of Israel and established Musar yeshivas there.
While many former students of the Musar movement settled in the United States and were involved in a variety of Jewish institutions, they established no formal institutions dedicated to Musar during the 20th century.
Many traditional yeshivas throughout the world, however, continued to allot some time during the week for Musar, and this continues today. This time is often dedicated to the study of Musar literature
Musar literature
Musar literature is the term used for didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards perfection in a methodical way.- Definition of Musar literature :...
.
21st century revival of the Musar movement
At the start of the 21st century, a significant revival of interest in the Musar movement has occurred in North America in various sectors of the Jewish world.Within the Orthodox community, the AishDas Society, founded by Rabbi Micha Berger, and the Salant Foundation, founded by Rabbi Zvi Miller, are organizations which organize Musar groups, classes and other teaching events. Elyakim Krumbain and Avi Fertig are Orthodox rabbis who have also published books which teach Musar from an Orthodox perspective.
To the surprise of some, much of the contemporary revival of Musar has taken place among non-Orthodox Jews. The Musar Institute, founded by Alan Morinis
Alan Morinis
Alan Morinis is an anthropologist, filmmaker, and writer who has been a leading figure in the contemporary revival of the Musar movement, a Jewish ethical movement....
, and the Mussar Leadership Program, founded by Rabbi Ira F. Stone
Ira F. Stone
Rabbi Ira F. Stone is a leading figure in the contemporary renewal of the Musar movement, a Jewish ethical movement.Stone was ordained as a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1979, and proceeded to serve congregations in Seattle and Philadelphia while also teaching at the Jewish...
, are among the institutions which have sought to spread the practice of Musar in a non-Orthodox framework. Morinis' book Everyday Holiness (2007) and Stone's book A Responsible Life (2007) have been among the popular books which have sparked contemporary interest in the Musar movement. Leaders of Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
have debated whether Musar should stand at the center of its approach, and Musar has been described as “an emerging and growing phenomenon” within Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
.
Some Musar groups have no connection with synagogues, but a number of synagogues have started programs for the study of Musar. For example, at Temple Chai in Chicago, Illinois, a program known as the "Sunday School for Grown-ups" has focused on the study of a different character trait each week. There are also online communities dedicated to the exploration of Musar and character trait development. For example, madrega.com, which was founded in March 2009, is a community which encourages members to share teachings, ideas and learnings about their own personal Musar practice.
Some teachers have recommended the practice of Musar not only for Jews but also among non-Jews. As the website of the Mussar Institute explains:
English-language bibliography
About the 19th-century Musar Movement- Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Musar Movement, Immanuel Etkes
- The Musar Movement, volume 1, Rabbi Dov Katz (translated by Leonard Oschry)
- The Fire Within: The Living Heritage of the Musar Movement, Hillel Goldberg
- Sparks of Musar: A treasury of the words and deeds of the Musar greats, Chaim Ephraim Zaichyk
- Rabbi Israel Salanter: Religious-Ethical Thinker, Menahem G. Glenn (1953, 2005)
Contemporary works adapting the Musar movement's teachings
- The Book of Jewish Values, Joseph Telushkin, Bell Tower, 2000.
- Climbing Jacob's Ladder: One Man's Rediscovery of a Jewish Spiritual Tradition, Alan Morinis, Broadway Books, 2002.
- A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Path of Musar, Ira F. Stone, Aviv Press, 2006.
- Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Musar, Alan Morinis, Trumpeter Books, 2007.
- Every Day, Holy Day: 365 Days of Teachings and Practices from the Jewish Tradition of Musar, Alan Morinis, Trumpeter Books, 2010.
- A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud, Rabbi Arthur Segal, Amazon Books, 2009.
External links
About the 19th-century Musar movement- Mussar Movement, YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe
- Louis Jacobs on the Musar movement
- The Orthodox Union on Rabbi Yisrael Salanter
Contemporary efforts to revive the Musar movement
- Rachael's Centre for Torah, Musar & Ethics
- Salant Foundation (Rabbi Zvi Miller)
- Mussar Leadership (Rabbi Ira Stone)
- Mussar Institute (Alan Morinis)
- The AishDas Society (Mussar Resources page)
- Alan Morinis on Discovering Mussar
- Musar Shiurim by Rav Nissan Kaplan of Mir Yeshiva, Jerusalem
- About the American Jewish Revival of Musar