Practical Mussar Character Development
I am drawn to areas of Jewish study, both as a teacher and a student, that focus on practical wisdom applicable to everyday life, such as mussar character development, which originated in 19th century Lithuania under Rabbi Israel Salanter. Mussar has experienced a resurgence with many people today. I am a student of mussar character development because the practice helps to “keep your feet on the ground,” by providing easily accessible life lessons via a step-by-step framework to strive for balance in one’s life, one character trait at a time (i.e., humility, gratitude, silence) in an effort to be the best partner, parent, child, employer, employee, and overall human being that you can be and have healthier, more meaningful interactions with others.
I am continually amazed by the overlap between mussar and the practical everyday life benefits when relational therapy experts, such as Terry Real, use some different language that highlight some of the same traits/concepts that are part of a mussar character development practice and result in practices that complement each other. For example, working on the trait of chesed or kindness by speaking kindly to the other, or working on the trait of shtikut or silence vis a vis the other instead of saying something hurtful.
I completed a mussar character development facilitator course thru the Mussar Institute and taught an Introduction to Mussar Course at Fair Lawn Jewish Center Congregation B’nai Israel.
I also taught a unique experiential learning program of mussar character development and hickey at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires , a Jewish sleepaway camp, during the summers of 2018 and 2019, and served as a scholar-in-residence at Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue in Toronto, Canada, teaching mussar classes and a “Bikur Cholim” or “visiting the sick” module during a two-day Shabbat weekend. I continue my own study and practice of mussar by participating in a class for rabbis taught by Rabbi Ira Stone of the Contemporary Mussar Institute, who oftentimes reminds me of the profound lesson I strive to incorporate in my own life — to serve the other [lower case “o”] is the way to serve the Infinite Other [capital “O”].
