In Search of the Holy Life

Rediscovering the Kabbalistic Roots of Mussar

We began our Mussar journey by following the practice instituted by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter in Lithuania in the nineteenth century: a Mussar practice characterized by discipline and kibbush (restraint) as a path to self-improvement. We turned our inward-facing journeys outward and applied Mussar’s principles to the way we treated other people in our everyday lives. We would focus on the small but critical moments of human interaction and connection that make up our days and undergird our relationships. This prescription had the potential to serve as an antidote to the narcissism and isolation of our age, and in doing so, it could recast the very definition of the Divine for a contemporary audience.