Yisrael ben Ze'ev Wolf Lipkin, also known as "Israel Salanter" or "Yisroel Salanter" (November 3, 1809 – February 2, 1883), was the father of the
Musar movement in
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...
and a famed
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...
and
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
ist. The epithet ''Salanter'' was added to his name since most of his schooling took place in Salant (now the Lithuanian town of
Salantai), where he came under the influence of
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
Yosef Zundel of Salant. He was the father of mathematician
Yom Tov Lipman Lipkin.
Biography
Yisroel Lipkin was born in
Zagare, Lithuania on November 3, 1809, the son of Zev Wolf, the
rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
of that town and later
Av Beth Din of
Goldingen
Goldingen is a former municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Goldingen and St. Gallenkappel merged into the municipality of ...
and
Telz, and his wife Leah. As a boy, he studied with Rabbi
Tzvi Hirsh Braude of
Salant.
After his 1823 marriage to Esther Fega Eisenstein Lipkin settled with her in Salant where he continued his studies under Hirsch Broda
[ and Zundel, himself a disciple of ]Chaim Volozhin
Chaim of Volozhin (also known as Chaim ben Yitzchok of Volozhin or Chaim Ickovits; 21 January 1749 – 14 June 1821)Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography: Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, pp. 347–349; idem, Kiryah Ne'emanah, pp. 156–158; L ...
.
Around 1833 he met the decade-younger Alexander Moshe Lapidos, who became his lifelong student and friend.
Around 1842, Lipkin was appointed rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...
(dean) of Meile's yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; 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 are studied in parallel. The stu ...
(''Tomchai Torah'') in Vilna
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. When a minor scandal arose related to his appointment, he left the post to its previous inhabitant and moved to Zaretcha, an exurb of Vilna, and established a new yeshiva where he lectured for about three years.
Jewish law prohibits doing certain categories of work on Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
(the Jewish Sabbath) except in life-threatening emergencies. During the cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemic of 1848 Lipkin ensured that any necessary relief work on Shabbat for Jews was done by Jews. Although some wanted such work to be done on Shabbat by non-Jews, Lipkin said that both Jewish ethics and law mandate that the obligation to save lives takes priority over other laws. During Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
(the Day of Atonement), Lipkin ordered that Jews that year must not abide by the traditional fast, but instead must eat in order to maintain their health, again for emergency health reasons.
In 1848, the Czarist government created the Vilna Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary. Lipkin was identified as a candidate to teach at or run the school. As he feared that the school would be used to produce rabbinical "puppets" of the government, he refused the position and left Vilna. Salanter moved to Kovno
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
, where he established a Musar-focused yeshiva at the Nevyozer Kloiz.
In 1857 he left Lithuania and moved to Prussia. He remained in the house of philanthropists, the Hirsch brothers of Halberstadt
Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...
, until his health improved. In 1861 he started publication of the Hebrew journal ''Tevunah'', devoted to rabbinical law and religious ethics. After three months the journal had failed to garner enough subscriptions to cover its costs, so he closed it.
Lipkin lived for periods in Memel, Königsberg and Berlin. Toward the end of his life, Lipkin went to Paris to organize a community among the many Russian Jewish immigrants, and he remained there for two years.
Lipkin was one of the first people to try to translate the Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
into another language. However, he died before he could finish this immense project. Lipkin died on Friday, February 2, 1883 (25 Shevat 5643), in Königsberg
Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
, then part of Germany. For many years, the exact location of his grave was unknown. Following a lengthy investigation, in 2007 the grave was located in Königsberg.
In order to be able to legally travel outside of the Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...
, he became a master dye-maker, enabling him to receive a permit allowing free travel within Russia.[
When the Russian Empire established military ]conscription
Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
of young Jewish men, Lipkin wrote to rabbis and community leaders urging them to obey and make lists of young men for the government while working through political connections in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
to abolish the conscription.
Teachings
Lipkin was known as the father of the Musar movement that developed, particularly among the Lithuanian Jews, in 19th century Orthodox Eastern Europe. The Hebrew term musar (מוּסַר), is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct. The term was used by the Musar movement to refer to disciplined efforts to further ethical and spiritual development. The study of Musar is a part of the study of Jewish ethics.
Lipkin is best known for stressing that the inter-personal laws of the Torah
The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
bear as much weight as other Divine obligations. According to Lipkin, adhering to the ritual aspects of Judaism without developing one's relationships with others and oneself was an unpardonable parody. There are many anecdotal stories about him that relate to this moral equation, see for example the following references.
The concept of the unconscious
Unconscious may refer to:
Physiology
* Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli
Psychology
* Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...
appears in the writings of Lipkin well before the concept was popularized by Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
, though its discussion predates Lipkin as well. Already in 1880,[The first appearance of this concept is in an essay entitled "An Essay on the Topic of Reinforcing those who Learn our Holy ]Torah
The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
," subsequently published in a collection of essays entitled "Etz Pri" written by a student of Lipkin based on his teacher's notes. the concept of conscious and subconscious processes and the role they play in the psychological, emotional and moral functioning of man are fully developed and elucidated. These concepts are referred to in his works as the "outer" '' hitzoniut' and "inner" '' enimiut' processes, they are also referred to as the "clear" '' larer' and "dark" '' unkler' processes. They form a fundamental building block of many of Rabbi Salanter's letters, essays and teachings. He would write that it is critical for a person to recognize what his subconscious motivations '' egiot' are and to work on understanding them.
Lipkin would teach that the time for a person to work on not allowing improper subconscious impulses to affect him was during times of emotional quiet, when a person is more in control of his thoughts and feelings. He would stress that when a person is experiencing an acute emotional response to an event, he is not necessarily in control of his thoughts and faculties and will not have access to the calming perspectives necessary to allow his conscious mind to intercede.
Based on his understanding of subconscious motivation, Lipkin was faced with a quandary. Given that a person's subconscious motivations are often not apparent or under the control of a person and are likely to unseat conscious decisions that they may make, how is it then possible for a person to control and modify their own actions in order to improve their actions and act in accordance with the dictates of the Torah
The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
? If the basis of a person's actions are not controlled by them, how can they change them through conscious thought?
Lipkin argued that the only solution to this dilemma is to study ethical teachings with intense emotion 'limud hamusar behispa'alut'' He taught that a person should choose an ethical statement 'ma'amar chazal''and repeat this over and over with great feeling and concentration on its meaning. Through this repetition and internal arousal, a person would be able to bring the idea represented in the ethical teaching into the realm of his subconscious and thus improve their behaviour and "character traits".
Lipkin felt that people would be embarrassed to study ethical teachings 'limud ha'musar''in such a way in a normal study-hall 'bet ha'medrash''and he therefore invented the idea of a "house of ethical teachings" 'bet ha'mussar''that would be located next to an ordinary study hall and that would be designated for learning ethics in this way.
One of the more popular teachings of Lipkin is based on a real life encounter he had with a shoemaker one very late night. It was Motza'ei Shabbat
The term Motza'ei Shabbat (—literally, the going out of the Sabbath) in Judaism refers to the time in the evening immediately following Shabbat, that is Saturday night. It is a time when, following one's declaration of the intention to end Shabba ...
(Saturday night after Shabbat) and Lipkin was on the way to the synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
to recite Selichot
Selichot (, singular: , ''səliḥā'') are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are a central theme throughout these pra ...
. Suddenly he felt a tear in his shoe, so he looked around town to see if there was a shoemaker still open for business at this late hour. Finally he located a shoemaker sitting in his shop working next to his candle. Lipkin walked in and asked him, "Is it too late now to get my shoes repaired?" The shoemaker replied, "As long as the candle is burning, it is still possible to repair." Upon hearing this, Lipkin ran to the synagogue and preached to the public what he had learned from the shoemaker. In his words, as long as the candle is burning, as long as one is still alive, it is still possible to repair one's soul.[ ''עבודת המדות (Avodat haMidot)'', Page 133]
Famous disciples
Lipkin believed that accomplishment in spiritual growth is not limited to rabbinic figures but is also the realm of the ordinary layman. Therefore, his closest disciples included not only leading rabbis of the next generation but also laymen who would come to exert a tremendous positive influence on the physical and spiritual lot of their brethren. Nevertheless, there is little detailed information available concerning his non-rabbinic disciples.
Among Lipkin's most famous students were:
*Naftali Amsterdam
Naftali Amsterdam (; 1832–1916) was a Lithuanian-born Orthodox rabbi and a leader in the Mussar movement.
Mussar movement role
A student of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, the Mussar movement's founder, his teacher categorized the roles of three top ...
(נפתלי אמשטרדאם)
*Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer (Hebrew: יצחק בלאזר) (1837–1907) was an early important leader of the Musar movement.
He is also sometimes referred to as Rav Itzele Peterburger due to his position as Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg at a time whe ...
*Eliezer Gordon
Rabbi Eliezer Gordon (; 1841–1910) also known as Reb Laizer Telzer (), served as the rabbi and ''rosh yeshiva'' of Telz, Lithuania.
Early years
Eliezer Gordon was born in 1841 in the village of Chernyaty (or Chernian in Yiddish), Belarus, ...
*Jacob Joseph
Jacob Joseph (; 1840 – July 28, 1902) served as chief rabbi of New York City's Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, a federation of Eastern European Jewish synagogues, from 1888 until his death in 1902. Born in Krozhe, a pro ...
*Yerucham Perlman
Yeruham () is a town in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers , and had a population of in . It is named after the Biblical Jeroham.
Until early 2011 the mayor of Yeruham was Amram Mitzna, and he was succeeded by Mich ...
*Simcha Zissel Ziv
Simcha Zissel Ziv Broida (; 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 movement. He is best known as ...
*Yosef Yozel Horwitz
Yosef Yozel Horowitz (), 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. The Alter was also a student of Rabbis Yitzchak Blazer and ...
His layperson disciples included figures such as the banker Eliyahu (Elinka) of Kretinga
Kretinga (Yiddish: קרעטינגע) is a List of cities in Lithuania, city in Klaipėda County, in north-western Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kretinga District Municipality. It is located east of the popular Baltic Sea resort town of Pala ...
and the tea magnate, Kalman Zev Wissotzky.
Published works
Many of his articles from the journal "Tevunah" were collected and published in ''Imrei Binah'' (1878). His ''Iggeres HaMusar'' ("Ethical Letter") was first published in 1858 and then repeatedly thereafter. Many of his letters were published in ''Ohr Yisrael'' ("The Light of Israel") in 1890 (edited by Yitzchak Blazer
Yitzchak Blazer (Hebrew: יצחק בלאזר) (1837–1907) was an early important leader of the Musar movement.
He is also sometimes referred to as Rav Itzele Peterburger due to his position as Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg at a time whe ...
). His disciples collected many of his discourses and published them in ''Even Yisrael'' (1853) and ''Etz Peri'' (1881).[
]
References
Bibliography
* Etkes, Immanuel. ''Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Musar Movement''. Jewish Publication Society. .
* Finkelman S. ''The story of Reb Yisrael Salanter; the legendary founder of the musar movement''. New York, New York: Mesorah Publications, . .
* Goldberg, Hillel.
The Fire Within: The living heritage of the Musar movement.
' Artscroll/Mesorah. 1987.
*Goldberg, Hillel. ''Israel Salanter, text, structure, idea: the ethics and theology of an early psychologist of the unconscious''. KTAV Publishing House. .
External links
* ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
“Lipkin”
by Herman Rosenthal & Jacob Goodale Lipman (1906). Now in public domain.
*
*
Iggeret ha-Mussar, the Letter of Ethics—Rabbi Salanter's most well-known work
(PDF)
Rabbi Isroel Salanter, the Haskalah and the "Theory of Secularization": An Analysis from a Folkloristic Point of View
Family Tree
Rav Yisrael Salanter biography from 1899
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salanter, Yisrael Lipkin
1809 births
1883 deaths
Lithuanian Haredi rabbis
Musar movement
Philosophers of Judaism
Rosh yeshivas
19th-century Lithuanian rabbis
People from Žagarė
People from Salantai
Rabbis from Kaunas