Mussar is an old Hebrew word meaning moral conduct, instruction, discipline or training. In modern Hebrew it simply means ethics.

The study of Mussar dates back to Talmudic times, but the modern study has its roots in a very non-Jewish source – Benjamin Franklin. Franklin chose 13 character traits to concentrate on, each one for a week and then repeat the cycle for a year, so by the end of the year he had looked at each trait four times.

In the mid-18th century Rabbi Yisreal Salanter, a Lithuanian Talmudist, formalized the study of Mussar. The goal of Mussar is to become the best version of ourselves that we can be. Rabbi Salanter believed that this is achieved by self-understanding and study.

“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town, so, as an older man I tried to change my family.

“Now, as an older man, I realize that the only thing I can change is myself. And suddenly I realized that if, long ago, I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family could have made an impact on our town. The town’s impact could have changed the nation, and I could indeed have changed the world.”

The Torah tells us that we are all made in the image of God and therefore we should be holy because God is holy; we should strive to be like God. To do this Mussar says we are all born with hundreds of character traits, but each of us has a different amount; think of a spice rack with a jar for every spice known, but each of us has a different amount of spice in each jar. Thus, we each have the task of increasing or limiting the amount of every spice we have, and to use each according to the specific recipe we are dealing with. Alan Morinis, the founder of The Mussar Institute, teaches that a holy person is someone who does the right thing just because it is right and with no expectation of a material reward.

This explains why some people are patient beyond belief but stingy with their money, or some people are grateful for every little thing they have but are quick to unfavorably judge others who disagree with them; we each have our own personal soul curriculum to follow.

The goal of Mussar is to make the heart (the center of our soul) feel what our head (our center of thought) already knows. This must begin with an intellectual understanding of each of these “spices” or “soul traits,” which are referred to as middot (singular is midah). Midah is the modern Hebrew word for measure. Only once you understand the meaning and intent of each midah can you begin to act on it. This is not a simple task and can take a lot of time to put into action, so Mussar is something you need to stick with.

The formal practice of Mussar has several parts. The first is a group meeting (called a Va’ad), which traditionally takes place every two weeks. In the interim you should meet with a partner from the group – a chavruta, from the Hebrew word Havair (friend). These meetings enable you to verbally delve into the meaning and intent of each midah by sharing your thoughts and experiences with it. These meetings are not intended to be any sort of therapy session and should not be aimed at telling another member how to behave unless they specifically ask.

Other suggestions for practicing are to identify and repeat a focus phrase (a mantra) several times a day to get the idea of the midah into your head/heart, to journal daily a brief sentence of two of how you interacted with the particular midah you are currently studying, and to set an intention (kabbalah) for a simple action you can do to further the midah.

Here are some source books you can look at for the study of Mussar.  All are available from Amazon in both hardcopy/paperback or Kindle.

• Climbing Jacob’s Ladder by Alan Morinis (his personal story)

• Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis (a beginning Mussar book)

• Every Day, Holy Day by Alan Morinis (a daily way to look at individual middot)

• With Heart in Mind by Alan Morinis (a sequel to Everyday Holiness on how to put middot into practice)

• Changing the World from the Inside Out: A Jewish Approach to Personal and Social Change by David Jaffe

• The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions: Finding Balance through the Soul Traits of Mussar by Greg Marcus

• Mussar Yoga: Blending an Ancient Jewish Spiritual Practice with Yoga to Transform Body and Soul by Edith R Brotman and Alan Morinis