Just as Kabbalah became the Jewish flavor of the month in America a few years ago, Mussar is suddenly appearing in non-Jewish environments. Mussar, like Kabbalah, is a serious study undertaken by many observant Jews. I encourage you to learn about it and to go beyond whatever your FIRST source of information is to other views and approaches to Mussar.
Here is a handy starting point, an article on www.myjewishlearning.com
A History of Mussar
You can learn online from one of the teachers that I respect, Alan Morinis. One of the San Francisco Reform synagogues shared the class information below with their members. I first heard Alan Morinis speak at an Orthodox synagogue a few years ago. He works across denominations. Take a look; he is quite good and can be funny too.
Taste of Mussar for Individuals or Online Groups
An introduction to the study and practice of Jewish spiritual ethics
Mussar is a centuries-old Jewish body of teachings, a perspective, and a disciplined practice that provides distinctively Jewish answers to the sorts of questions any thinking person asks about life:
Why do I keep making the same mistakes over and over?
Why do I cause pain to myself and others?
What steps can I take to bring my life closer to my spiritual potential?
Are there lessons I can learn from the experiences of previous generations?
Mussar provides guidance in identifying your uniquely personal path of spiritual growth and offers practices to help bring about that growth.
A Taste of Mussar is an introductory four-week course developed by Dr. Alan Morinis to give you the opportunity to experience the tradition of learning and practicing Mussar that has engaged and helped people for centuries.
4 weeks
Fee: $36 US per individual payable upon registration for individuals. $54 US per individual for online groups
Details here.
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