Mussar is a Jewish spiritual practice that has evolved over the past 1,000-plus year. The Mussar Institute descibes its purpose as: "to help an individual soul to pinpoint and then to break through the barriers that surround and obstruct the flow of inner light in our lives."
This interactive webinar is intended to include men who have no knowledge about Mussar and men for whom Mussar serves in integral part of their daily lives. The program will begin with an introduction to Mussar. We will then transition to an open discussion for men to share how Mussar impacts their lives.
We will post resources and other materials about Mussar in the days leading up to the webinar. Until then, here are some thoughts from Elliott Myrowitz to help you prepare for the webinar:
I view this webinar as a personal sharing of what we have gained by studing/practicing/ and living Mussar at specific moments in our lives. While this may be like saying how Torah play out in specific moments, I think this personal sharing can encourage those unfamiliar with Mussar to learn more, those who have some experience to continue learning and practicing, and those who are teachers/leaders of Mussar to share some of their personal wisdom.
Elliott Myrowitz’s Suggested Mussar References
Books
Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness.
My Baltimore chavurah used this text for about a year around 2012 and it was very valuable tool to work together.
Ira F. Stone, A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Path of Mussar.
Moses Hayyim Luzzatto, Mesillat Yesharim (Introduction and Commentary by Ira F. Stone, Translation and Original Introduction by Mordecai M. Kaplan).
Rabbi Stone, in my opinion, has made a great contribution by having three books in one. The original text, Kaplan’s translation and his commentary. What an amazing bridging, very rich, daunting 275 pages in English, full Hebrew text, and the encouragement to reread the work by all three authors can fill many hours of your time.
David Jaffe, Changing the World from the Inside Out.
Rabbi Jaffe says “ I have woven together Mussar and Breslov Hasidism into a nurturing spiritual path.”
Greg Marcus, The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions.
Dr. Marcus says, “Mussar is a practice that gives concrete instructions and guidelines to help you live a meaningful and ethical life”
Google search of Mussar
If you Google search Mussar the first listings are all very good websites and include My Jewish Learning, Wikipedia, and The Mussar Institute. Further down the listing you can find American Mussar and Center for Contemporary Mussar. These last two listings are what I am most interested in now that I am exploring in order to deepen my limited personal practice.
Books
Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness.
My Baltimore chavurah used this text for about a year around 2012 and it was very valuable tool to work together.
Ira F. Stone, A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Path of Mussar.
Moses Hayyim Luzzatto, Mesillat Yesharim (Introduction and Commentary by Ira F. Stone, Translation and Original Introduction by Mordecai M. Kaplan).
Rabbi Stone, in my opinion, has made a great contribution by having three books in one. The original text, Kaplan’s translation and his commentary. What an amazing bridging, very rich, daunting 275 pages in English, full Hebrew text, and the encouragement to reread the work by all three authors can fill many hours of your time.
David Jaffe, Changing the World from the Inside Out.
Rabbi Jaffe says “ I have woven together Mussar and Breslov Hasidism into a nurturing spiritual path.”
Greg Marcus, The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions.
Dr. Marcus says, “Mussar is a practice that gives concrete instructions and guidelines to help you live a meaningful and ethical life”
Google search of Mussar
If you Google search Mussar the first listings are all very good websites and include My Jewish Learning, Wikipedia, and The Mussar Institute. Further down the listing you can find American Mussar and Center for Contemporary Mussar. These last two listings are what I am most interested in now that I am exploring in order to deepen my limited personal practice.
