What is Mussar?
It's a preachy way to shame people and make them feel bad about their shortcomings, right?
NO, NOT IF DONE CORRECTLY!!!
As Daniel Krupka noted on Sunday night, Mishlei uses the metaphor of roads, highways, paths, etc. to convey patterns of behavior, whether good or bad. Tonight, looking at the p'suk from which the name of perhaps the most widely used textbook of Mussar, Mesillat Yesharim, is derived, we examine how to determine the route of the path to avoid evil and preserve - indeed, to attain life. The practice of the middot, or consciously cultivated character traits, through Mussar offers a reliable map for the soul to achieve kedushah, holiness, and union with G-d.
(17) The highway of the upright avoids evil; He who would preserve his life watches his way.
What does G-d ask from us? Ramchal cites these verses from Devarim to identify five things: 1. reverence/awe/fear of HaShem, 2. walking in HaShem's ways, 3. love of HaShem, 4. wholeheartedness, and 5. observance of all the mitzvot.
והוא מה שאמרו בברייתא, הובאה במקומות שונים בש"ס ואחד מהם בפרק לפני אידיהן (עבודה זרה דף כ), זה לשונו:
(מא) "מכאן אמר רבי פנחס בן יאיר:
(מב) תורה מביאה לידי זהירות,
(מג) זהירות מביאה לידי זריזות,
(מד) זריזות מביאה לידי נקיות,
(מה) נקיות מביאה לידי פרישות,
(מו) פרישות מביאה לידי טהרה,
(מז) טהרה מביאה לידי חסידות,
(מח) חסידות מביאה לידי ענוה,
(מט) ענוה מביאה לידי יראת חטא,
(נ) יראת חטא מביאה לידי קדושה,
(נא) קדושה מביאה לידי רוח הקודש,
(נב) רוח הקדש מביאה לידי תחיית המתים".
It was taught in a Beraitha and cited in several places in the Talmud. One of these is in the chapter "before their festivals" (Avodah Zara 20b): ["you shall guard yourself from everything evil" - Devarim 23:10...]
(41) "From here Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair derived:
(42) Torah brings to watchfulness;
(43) Watchfulness brings to Zeal;
(44) Zeal brings to Cleanliness;
(45) Cleanliness brings to Separation;
(46) Separation brings to Purity;
(47) Purity brings to Piety;
(48) Piety brings to Humility;
(49) Humility brings to Fear of Sin;
(50) Fear of Sin brings to Holiness;
(51) Holiness brings to the Holy Spirit,
(52) and the Holy Spirit brings to the Revival of the Dead."
So why the heck did HaShem create us with a Yetzer HaRa in the first place?
In response to the indication of divine acceptance, they observed a fast for three days and three nights, and He delivered the evil inclination to them. A form of a fiery lion cub came forth from the chamber of the Holy of Holies. Zechariah the prophet said to the Jewish people: This is the evil inclination for idol worship, as it is stated in the verse that refers to this event: “And he said: This is the evil one” (Zechariah 5:8). The use of the word “this” indicates that the evil inclination was perceived in a physical form. When they caught hold of it one of its hairs fell, and it let out a shriek of pain that was heard for four hundred parasangs. They said: What should we do to kill it? Perhaps, Heaven forfend, they will have mercy upon him from Heaven, since it cries out so much. The prophet said to them: Throw it into a container made of lead and seal the opening with lead, since lead absorbs sound. As it is stated: “And he said: This is the evil one. And he cast it down into the midst of the measure, and he cast a stone of lead upon its opening” (Zechariah 5:8). They followed this advice and were freed of the evil inclination for idol worship. When they saw that the evil inclination for idol worship was delivered into their hands as they requested, the Sages said: Since it is an auspicious time, let us pray also concerning the evil inclination for sin. They prayed, and it was also delivered into their hands. Zechariah the prophet said to them: See and understand that if you kill this evil inclination the world will be destroyed because as a result there will also no longer be any desire to procreate. They followed his warning, and instead of killing the evil inclination they imprisoned it for three days. At that time, people searched for a fresh egg throughout all of Eretz Yisrael and could not find one. Since the evil inclination was quashed, the chickens stopped laying eggs. They said: What should we do? If we kill it, the world will be destroyed. If we pray for half, i.e., that only half its power be annulled, nothing will be achieved because Heaven does not grant half gifts, only whole gifts. What did they do? They gouged out its eyes, effectively limiting its power, and set it free. And this was effective to the extent that a person is no longer aroused to commit incest with his close relatives.
The problems start when our needs are met but rather than becoming silent and letting the Yetzer Tov, the concern for others that leads us to bear their burden, take over, the Yetzer HaRa continues to encourage us to act with only our own self-interest in mind. This leads to sin, strife, and alienation from God, others, and even ourselves (as we neglect our souls and their development. But restraining our Yetzer HaRa when it is not needed and expanding our Yetzer Tov is difficult.
This is where Mussar comes in. The nineteenth-century rabbi Israel Salanter developed the Mussar movement as a way of helping people consciously do this and develop their souls. He developed several tools that the Mussar student is given to develop his or her soul, restrain the Yetzer HaRa, and expand the Yetzer Tov.
Mussar students meet in classes with a madrich/ah who teaches a shiur based on a Mussar work (often Mesillat Yesharim - the Center for Contemporary Mussar uses this as the basic text and Tomer Devorah and the final chapters of Mesillat Yesharim for the advanced tikkun work of expanding the Yetzer Tov). Then, in va'ad, students share Mussar moments when they did not act appropriately (or are not sure whether or not they did so) and the madrich/ah and fellow students help the student understand what happened so that they can respond more appropriately in the future. Each student reflects on how the situation shared sheds life on their own ethical life. Each student also meets with a chevruta partner each week to discuss Mussar and how to apply it in their lives.
A big part of the work is learning various middot, character traits such as Seder (order), Anavah (humility), Metinut (deliberation) - those given in the baraita above or other lists (the Center for Contemporary Mussar uses the list given in Cheshbon HaNefesh by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Leffin of Satnov (middot taken from Ben Franklin's Autobiography!) for kibbush work of restraining the Yetzer HaRa and the list given from Micah 7:18-20 in Rabbi Moshe Cordovero's Tomer Devorah for tikkun work of expanding the Yetzer Tov. The Cheshbon HaNefesh list may be found here: https://contemporarymussar.org/mussar-essentials/ Each student learns about the middah and strives to apply the middah in their daily life. These middot help develop our souls and help us better show the image of G-d in which we are created in all of our actions.
Each Mussar student is encouraged to engage in Cheshbon HaNefesh, accounting of the soul, each night to examine how they were successful or not in living by Mussar principles, often focusing on a particular Middah for a week at a time. One can then look back and see how one is progressing. Some have the practice of reviewing the month's journal on Yom Kippur Katan, the "little day of atonement" before Rosh Chodesh, as well as reviewing the year's journal during the month of Elul, when many engage in various forms of Cheshbon HaNefesh.
Mussar students are encouraged to study Torah - any form of Jewish literature, but especially the Torah portion - seeing it through a Mussar lens, learning from the stories in the Torah and what they can teach us about how to live lives that are concerned with bearing the burden of the other.
Rabbi Stone of the Center for Contemporary Mussar distinguishes between "interruptive mitzot", such as lighting Shabbat candles or reciting berachot, which interrupt our lives and remind us of our responsibility to the Other, and "insubstantiative mitzvot", for which there is no limit, such as loving the stranger. The interruptive mitzvot help remind us to perform the insubstantiative mitzvot. Mussar students are encouraged to periodically add new mitzvot to their lives to help them live better lives.
Prayer is also important for Mussar students (as for everyone!) for it puts in touch with the Divine and pray for guidance and strength to lead ethical lives.
1. What are practices you have engaged in that have helped you become a better person, more in touch with HaShem and with loving your neighbor as yourself?
2. Are there particular middot/character traits you have found helpful in living an ethical life? Are there middot/character traits you have difficulty with?
3. Do you have friends, chevruta partners, or others with whom you can check in on your ethical and spiritual life?
4. Can you think of a time when your Yetzer HaRa - concern for self - was necessary and helped protect you? Can you think of another time when it caused you to act selfishly in ways that hurt others?
Center for Contemporary Mussar: https://contemporarymussar.org/
Mesillat Yesharim: https://www.sefaria.org/Messilat_Yesharim?lang=bi
Tomer Devorah: https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_Tomer_Devorah?lang=bi