Musar literature is

didactic Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need t ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

ethical

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

which describes virtues and vices and the path towards character improvement. This literature gives the name to the

Musar movement The Musar movement (also Mussar movement) is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Lithuania, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term (), is adopted from the Book of Proverbs (1 ...

, in 19th century Lithuania, but this article considers such literature more broadly.

Definition

Musar literature is often described as "ethical literature." Professor

Geoffrey Claussen Geoffrey Claussen is an American rabbi and scholar who serves as a professor of Religious Studies at Elon University. His scholarship focuses on Jewish ethics, theology, and the Musar movement. Education Claussen received his BA in Classical Lan ...

describes it as "Jewish literature that discusses virtue and character." Professors Isaiah Tishby and

Joseph Dan Joseph Dan (, 1935 – 23 July 2022) was an Israeli scholar of Jewish mysticism. He taught for over 40 years in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was the first incumbent of the Gershom Scholem Chair ...

have described it as "prose literature that presents to a wide public views, ideas, and ways of life in order to shape the everyday behavior, thought, and beliefs of this public." Musar literature traditionally depicts the nature of moral and spiritual perfection in a methodical way. It is "divided according to the component parts of the ideal righteous way of life; the material is treated methodically – analyzing, explaining, and demonstrating how to achieve each moral virtue (usually treated in a separate chapter or section) in the author's ethical system."Joseph Dan, "Ethical Literature" ''Encyclopaedia Judaica,'' ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 6. Musar literature can be distinguished from other forms of Jewish ethical literature such as

aggadic Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...

narrative and

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

literature.

Early Musar literature

In Judaism,

ethical monotheism Ethical monotheism is a form of exclusive monotheism in which God is believed to be the only god as well as the source for one's standards of morality, guiding humanity through ethical principles. Definition Ethical monotheism originated within ...

originated, and along with it came the highly didactic ethics in the Torah and Tanach. Mishlei is commonly regarded as a musar classic in its own right and is arguably the first true "musar sefer." In fact, the Hebrew word musar (מוסר, discipline) being the title of this genre stems from the word's extensive use in the book of Mishlei. An example from the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Golden Rule":

Gunther Plaut Wolf Gunther Plaut, (November 1, 1912 – February 8, 2012) was an American Reform rabbi and writer who was based in Canada. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar. L ...

, ''The Torah — A Modern Commentary''; Union of American Hebrew Congregations, New York 1981; pp.892.

Hillel the Elder Hillel ( he, הִלֵּל ''Hīllēl''; variously called ''Hillel HaGadol'', ''Hillel HaZaken'', ''Hillel HaBavli'' or ''HaBavli'', was born according to tradition in Babylon c. 110 BCE, died 10 CE in Jerusalem) was a Jewish religious leader, s ...

(c. 110 BCE – 10 CE), used this verse as a most important message of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

for his teachings. Once, he was challenged by a ger toshav who asked to be converted under the condition that the Torah be explained to him while he stood on one foot. Hillel accepted him as a candidate for

conversion to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...

but, drawing on , briefed the man:

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from ...

is a compilation of the

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the

Mishnaic The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

period. It is part of

ethical Musar literature. Because of its contents, it is also called Ethics of the Fathers. The teachings of Pirkei Avot appear in the Mishnaic

tractate A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise. One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term ''masekhet'' () is used i ...

of ''Avot'', the second-to-last tractate in the order of

Nezikin ''Nezikin'' ( he, נזיקין ''Neziqin'', "Damages") or ''Seder Nezikin'' (, "The Order of Damages") is the fourth Order of the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). It deals largely with Jewish criminal and civil law and the Jewish court s ...

in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

. Pirkei Avot is unique in that it is the only tractate of the Mishnah dealing ''solely'' with ethical and moral principles; there is little or no

halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

found in Pirkei Avot.

Medieval Musar literature

Medieval works of Musar literature were composed by a range of rabbis and others, including rationalist philosophers and adherents of Kabbalistic mysticism.

has argued that medieval Musar literature reflects four different approaches: the philosophical approach; the standard rabbinic approaches; the approach of

Chassidei Ashkenaz The Hasidim of Ashkenaz ( he, חסידי אשכנז, trans. ''Khasidei Ashkenaz''; "German Pietists") were a Jewish mystical, ascetic movement in the German Rhineland during the 12th and 13th centuries. Background The leaders of the community ...

; and the

Kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

approach.

Philosophical Musar literature

Philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

works of Musar include: * ''

Chovot ha-Levavot ''Chovot HaLevavot'', or ''Ḥobot HaLebabot'' (; he, חובות הלבבות; English: ''Duties of the Hearts''), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name ''Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda''. Rabbi Ibn Paquda is believed ...

'' by

Bahya ibn Paquda Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda, Hebrew: , ar, بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Al-Andalus (now Spain). He was one of two people now known as Rabbeinu Behay ...

''Hilchot Deot''
in ''Sefer ha-Madah'' of

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

* ''Sefer Hayashar'' (the ethical work, not to be confused with the many other unrelated works of the same name), published anonymously * ''Shemona Perakim'' ("The Eight Chapters"):, the introduction to

' commentary to the

Standard Rabbinic Musar literature

Rabbinic Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

Musar literature came as a reaction to philosophical literature, and tried to show that the Torah and standard

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic w ...

taught about the nature of virtue and vice without recourse to Aristotelian or other philosophical concepts. Classic works of this sort include * ''

Ma'alot ha-Middot Jehiel ben Jekuthiel Anav (Yechiel ben Yekutiel ( he, יחיאל ב. יקותאל) Anav), also referred to as Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin HaRofe, who lived in Rome during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, was a famous scholar, poet, ''p ...

'' by Rabbi Yehiel ben Yekutiel Anav of Rome * ''Shaarei Teshuvah'' (The Gates of Repentance) by Rabbi

Yonah Gerondi Rabbi Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi ( he, יוֹנָה בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם גִירוֹנְדִי ''Yōnāh bēn-ʾAvrāhām Gīrōndī'', "Jonah son of Abraham the Gironan"; died 1264), also known as Jonah of Girona and Rabbeinu Yonah (), wa ...

* ''Menorat ha-Ma'or'' by Israel Al-Nakawa b. Joseph of Toledo * ''Menorat ha-Ma'or'' by Isaac Aboab * ''

Orchot Tzaddikim ''Orchot Tzaddikim'' (Hebrew: ארחות צדיקים) 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. Under this title a Yiddish ...

'' (''The Ways of the Righteous''), by an anonymous author * ''Meneket Rivkah'' by

Rebecca bat Meir Tiktiner Rebecca bat Meir Tiktiner (; died 1605), was a Yiddish writer, whose works include a treatise on Jewish ethics in the style of musar literature as well as a poem about Simchat Torah. Life She or her father probably resided in the northeast Polan ...

Similar works were produced by rabbis who were

Kabbalists Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

but whose Musar writings did not bear a kabbalistic character:

Nahmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

' ''Sha'ar ha-Gemul,'' which focuses on various categories of just and wicked people and their punishments in the world to come; and Rabbi

Bahya ben Asher Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible. He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda. Biog ...

's '' Kad ha-Kemah.''

Medieval Ashkenazi-Hasidic Musar literature

(literally "the Pious of Germany") was a Jewish movement in the 12th century and 13th century founded by Rabbi Judah the Pious (Rabbi Yehuda HeChassid) of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

, Germany, which was concerned with promoting Jewish piety and morality. The most famous work of Musar literature produced by this school was ''The Book of the Pious'' (

Sefer Hasidim The ''Sefer Hasidim'' or ''Sefer Chassidim'' (, Book of the Pious) is a text attributed to Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (died 1217), a foundation work of the teachings of the Chassidei Ashkenaz ("Pious Ones of Germany"). It offers an account o ...

Medieval Kabbalistic Musar literature

Explicitly

mystical works of Musar literature include '' Tomer Devorah'' (''The Palm Tree of Deborah'') by

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero Moses ben Jacob Cordovero ( he, משה קורדובירו ''Moshe Kordovero'' ‎; 1522–1570) was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Ottoman Syria. He is known by th ...

, '' Reshit Chochmah'' by

Eliyahu de Vidas Eliyahu de Vidas (1518–1587, Hebron) was a 16th-century rabbi in Ottoman Palestine. He was primarily a disciple of Rabbis Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (known as the ''Ramak'') and also Isaac Luria.Fine 2003, pp81 "Cordovero was the teacher of wh ...

, and '' Kav ha-Yashar'' by

Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover Rabbi Ẓebi Hirsch Kaidanover (c. 1650 – 1712), a native of Wilna; was the author of '' Kav ha-Yashar'' (). He was the son of Rabbi Aaron Samuel Kaidanover and a pupil of Rabbi Joseph ben Judah Jeidel, rabbi of Minsk and later of Dubno. Rabb ...

Modern Musar literature

Literature in the genre of Musar literature continued to be written by modern Jews from a variety of backgrounds.

Mesillat Yesharim

Mesillat Yesharim ''Mesillat Yesharim'' or ''Mesillas Yeshorim'' ( he, מסילת ישרים, lit. "Path of the Upright") is an ethical ('' musar'') text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707–1746). It is different from Luzzato's other wri ...

is a Musar text published in Amsterdam by

Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ( he, משה חיים לוצאטו, also ''Moses Chaim'', ''Moses Hayyim'', also ''Luzzato'') (1707 – 16 May 1746 (26 ''Iyar'' 5506)), also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL (or RaMHaL, ), was a prominent Itali ...

in the 18th century. Mesillat Yesharim is perhaps the most important work of Musar literature of the post-medieval period. The

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of ...

commented that he couldn't find a superfluous word in the first seven chapters of the work, and stated that he would have traveled to meet the author and learn from his ways if he'd still been alive.

Ottoman Musar literature

According to

Julia Phillips Cohen Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e. ...

, summarizing the work of Matthias B. Lehmann on Musar literature in Ottoman

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

society:

Beginning in the eighteenth century, a number of Ottoman rabbis had undertaken the task of fighting the ignorance they believed was plaguing their communities by producing works of Jewish ethics (''musar'') in
Judeo-Spanish Judaeo-Spanish or Judeo-Spanish (autonym , Hebrew script: , Cyrillic: ), also known as Ladino, is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish. Originally spoken in Spain, and then after the Edict of Expulsion spreading through the Ottoman Emp ...
(also known as Ladino). This development was inspired in part by a particular strain within
Jewish mysticism Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in ...
(
Lurianic Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534 Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mea ...

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
) which suggested that every Jew would necessarily play a role in the mending of the world required for redemption. The spread of ignorance among their coreligionists thus threatened to undo the proper order of things. It was with this in mind that these Ottoman rabbis--all capable of publishing in the more highly esteemed
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
language of their religious tradition--chose to write in their vernacular instead. While they democratized rabbinic knowledge by translating it for the masses, these "vernacular rabbis" (to use Matthias Lehmann's term) also attempted to instill in their audiences the sense that their texts required the mediation of individuals with religious training. Thus, they explained that common people should gather together to read their books in ''meldados'', or study sessions, always with the guidance of someone trained in the study of
Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...
.

Among the most popular works of Musar literature produced in Ottoman society was Elijah ha-Kohen's ''Shevet Musar,'' first published in Ladino in 1748. ''

Pele Yoetz Pele Yoetz Pele Yoetz
on

'' by Rabbi Eliezer Papo (1785–1826) was another exemplary work of this genre.

Haskalah Musar literature

In Europe, significant contributions to Musar literature were made by leaders of the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...

Naphtali Hirz Wessely Naphtali Hirz (Hartwig) Wessely ( yi, נפתלי הירץ וויזעל, translit=Naftali Hirtz Vizel; 9 December 1725 – 28 February 1805) was an 18th-century German-Jewish Hebraist and educationist. Family history One of Wessely's ancestors, ...

wrote a Musar text titled ''Sefer Ha-Middot'' (Book of Virtues) in approximately 1786.

Menachem Mendel Lefin Menachem Mendel Lefin (also Menahem Mendel Levin) (1749–1826) was an early leader of the Haskalah movement. Biography He was born in Satanov, Podolia, where he had a traditional Jewish education supplemented by studies in science, mathematics, a ...

Satanov Sataniv ( uk, Сатанів, russian: Сатанов, pl, Satanów) is an urban-type settlement in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sataniv settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Popu ...

wrote a text titled ''Cheshbon Ha-Nefesh'' (Moral Accounting) in 1809, based in part on the ethical program described in the autobiography of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

Hasidic Musar literature

One form of literature in the

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

movement were tracts collecting and instructing mystical-ethical practices. These include Tzavaat HaRivash ("Testament of Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem") and Tzetl Koton by

Elimelech of Lizhensk Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk (1717–March 11, 1787) was a rabbi and one of the great founding Rebbes of the Hasidic movement. He was known after his hometown, Leżajsk ( yi, ליזשענסק, translit=Lizhensk) near Rzeszów in Poland. He was ...

, a seventeen-point program on how to be a good Jew. Rabbi

Nachman of Breslov Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...

's Sefer ha-Middot is a

classic of Musar literature.

Mitnagdic and Yeshivish Musar literature

The "Musar letter" of the

, an ethical will by an opponent of the Hasidic movement, is regarded by some as a classic of Musar literature. Many of the writings of

Yisrael Meir Kagan Rabbi Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (January 26, 1838 – September 15, 1933), known popularly as the Chofetz Chaim, after his book on lashon hara, who was also well known for the Mishna Berurah, his book on ritual law, was an influential Lith ...

have also been described as Musar literature.

Literature by the Musar movement

The modern

, beginning in the 19th century, encouraged the organized study of medieval Musar literature to an unprecedented degree, while also producing its own Musar literature. Significant Musar writings were produced by leaders of the movement such as Rabbis Israel Salanter,

Simcha Zissel Ziv Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida ( he, שמחה זיסל זיו; 1824–1898), also known as Simhah Zissel Ziv or the ''Alter of Kelm'' (the Elder of Kelm), was one of the foremost students of Yisrael Salanter and one of the early leaders of the Musar m ...

Yosef Yozel Horwitz Yosef Yozel Horowitz ( he, יוסף יוזל הורוביץ), also Yosef Yoizel Hurwitz, known as the Alter of Novardok (1847–December 9, 1919), was a student of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, the founder of the Musar movement. Horowitz was also a stude ...

, and

Eliyahu Dessler Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892 – 31 December 1953) was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is best known for being the ''mashgiach ruchani'' ("spiritual counselor") of the Ponevezh yeshiva in I ...

. The movement established musar learning as a regular part of the curriculum in the Lithuanian

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

world, acting as a bulwark against contemporary forces of secularism.

Musar Literature by Reform Rabbis

Musar literature has been composed by Reform rabbis including Ruth Abusch-Magder, noted for her writing on humility, and Karyn Kedar, noted for her writing on forgiveness.

Musar Literature by Conservative Rabbis

Musar literature has been composed by Conservative rabbis including

Amy Eilberg Amy Eilberg (born October 12, 1954) is the first female rabbi ordained in Conservative Judaism. She was ordained in 1985 by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, one of the academic centers and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism. Yo ...

(noted for her writing on curiosity and courage) and Danya Ruttenberg (noted for her writing on curiosity).

Musar Literature by Reconstructionist Rabbis

Musar literature has been composed by Reconstructionist rabbis including Susan Schnur (noted for her writing on forgiveness), Sandra Lawson (noted for her writing on curiosity),

Rebecca Alpert Rabbi Rebecca Trachtenberg Alpert (born April 12, 1950) is Professor of Religion Emerita at Temple University, and was one of the first women rabbis. Her chief academic interests are religions and sports and sexuality in Judaism, and she says that ...

(noted for her writing on humility), and

Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (born Mottel Kaplan; June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983), was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist ...

(noted for his writing on humility). Schnur's writing show how gender matters in discussions of forgiveness as a virtue.

References

External links

Musar and Jewish Ethics pdf
''

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

Student Magazine''
Duties of the Heart - free english translation
* Benjamin Brown
From Principles to Rules and from Musar to Halakhah - The Hafetz Hayims Rulings on Libel and Gossip
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musar Literature Jewish literature Jewish ethics Musar movement