First, let me say that I am no expert in mussar. And in all honesty, I haven’t really even started. Right now I am only exploring the middot (character traits – middah, singular) that ring out to me as I prepare myself for the actual practice of mussar. From there I will pick the thirteen …
Yes, it is Thanksgiving Day, 2011, and I am writing about all of the many things about which I have to be thankful. However, I am writing this is not because it is Thanksgiving Day, but because as I have been studying mussar. Hashem has been dealing with me in the area of gratitude, and …
Over the last few weeks I’ve been consistently delving into the ancient practice of mussar each morning. This has been a huge source of inspiration and discipline for me. For those who are not familiar with mussar, in very simplistic terms it is a practice within Judaism that has been developed over the last thousand years …
One of this week’s mussar teachings from A Daily Dose of Torah (ADDT) references arguments & techniques of the yetzer hara (our “evil inclination” – or as Paul would say, our “flesh”) which keep us from achieving our potential. It summarizes it as follows: The arguments and persuasive techniques of the yetzer hara are presented …
Recently, I’ve been reading an teaching from Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s book, A Code of Jewish Ethics (Volume 1) and came across a quote that says it all: “A person wants to become a scholar and a leader overnight, and to sleep that night as well.” Rabbi Yaizel of Navorodock
