1. Rabbi simhah Zissel Ziv and the Talmud Torah -- 2. Virtue and the path of happiness -- 3. Simhah Zissel among the philosophers -- 4. The great effort of musar -- 5. Learning to love.

[1] Pinḳas ha-ḳabalot -- [2] Talmidaṿ (2 v.) -- [3] ʻInyene Elul ṿe-Yamim Noraʼim -- [4] ʻInyene Ḥanukah u-Furim.

Toldot ha-meḥaber, zatsal -- Haḳdamat ha-meḥaber, zatsal, le-mahadurah 1 -- Haḳdamah le-mahadurah 3 -- Maʼamar ʻal "Beḥire ha-yetsurim" -- Rabi Yiśraʼel mi-Salanṭ -- ha-Saba mi-Ḳelm -- Rabi Yitsḥaḳ Blazer -- Rabi Naftali Amsṭerdam -- Toldot ha-Saba mi-Novhardoḳ ṿe-yeshivotaṿ -- ha-Saba mi-Novhardoḳ -- ha-Saba mi-Slabodḳah -- he-Ḥafets Ḥayim --Gedole Novhardoḳ -- R. Avraham Zalmens -- R. Daṿid Blaikher -- R. Daṿid Bodniḳ -- R. Yiśraʼel Yaʻaḳov Lubṭshansḳi -- R. Shemuʼel Ṿainṭrob -- Talmide Novhardoḳ -- Peninim ṿe-leḳaḥim musariyim -- Ḥinukh ṿe-ʻidun ha-hergeshim (...) -- Reshimat ʻarakhim -- Mafteaḥ ʻarakhim - Mafteaḥ ishim. (shrink)

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RABBI SIMḤAH ZISSEL ZIV OF KELME, LITHUANIA, WAS ONE OF THE EARLY leaders of the Musar movement, a pietistic religious movement in nineteenth century Europe that attempted to place concerns with moral character at the center of Jewish life. This essay introduces Simḥah Zissel's virtue-centered approach to the Torah's central commandment that one "love one's fellow as one-self." For Simḥah Zissel, love is a disposition of the soul, with emotional and intellectual aspects culminating in action. Love demands a sense (...) of partnership with others and a sense of care that should extend to all of God's creatures; love requires that we not privilege ourselves over other people; and the highest level of love is "sharing the burden of one's fellow," compassionate love characterized by empathy and responsiveness, which can only be cultivated through great effort. (shrink)

A guide to self-improvement from the great thinkers of Judaism.

Jewish by birth, though from a secular family, Alan Morinis took a deep journey into Hinduism and Buddhism as a young man. He received a doctorate for his study of Hindu pilgrimage, learned yoga in India with B. K. S. Iyengar, and attended his first Buddhist meditation course in the Himalayas in 1974. But in 1997, when his film career went off track and he reached for some spiritual oxygen, he felt inspired to explore his Jewish heritage. In his reading (...) he happened upon a Jewish tradition of spiritual practice called Mussar. Gradually he realized he had stumbled on an insightful discipline for self-development, complete with meditative, contemplative, and other well-developed transformative practices designed to penetrate the deepest roots of the inner life. Eventually reaching the limits of what he could learn on his own, he decided to seek out a Mussar teacher. That was not easily achieved, since almost the entire world of the Mussar tradition had been wiped out in the Holocaust. In time, he did find an accomplished master who stood in an unbroken line of transmission of the Mussar tradition, and who lived at the center of a community of Orthodox Jews on Long Island. This book tells the story of Morinis’s journey to meet his teacher and what he learned from him, and reveals the central teachings and practices that are the spiritual treasury and legacy of Mussar. Alan Morinis has written this book because the wisdom and practices that helped him so much have not penetrated the world beyond the confines of Orthodox Judaism, and may not be fully appreciated even there at this time. His hope is that Jews and non-Jews alike will find in Mussar a time-tested path of spiritual practice that will help them discover the hidden radiance within. (shrink)

Gratitude -- Enthusiasm -- Joy -- Strength -- Loving-kindness -- Order -- Equanimity -- Honor -- Humility -- Generosity -- Watchfulness -- Judging others favorably -- Calmness -- Patience -- Love -- Abstinence -- Compassion -- Modesty -- Willingness -- Simplicity -- Courage -- Trust -- Faith -- Truth -- Silence -- Awe.

1. Amitot u-mevukhot -- 2. Kelale musar universaliyim -- 3. Hitpatḥut ha-musar.

Halakhah u-musar -- Emunah -- Mitsṿot -- Ḥevrah u-medinah.

Bodily movement has become an interesting topic in recent philosophy, both in analytic and phenomenological versions. Philosophy from Descartes to Kant defined the human being as a mental subject in a material body. This mechanistic attitude toward the body still lingers on in many studies of motor learning and control. The article shows how alternative philosophical views can give a better understanding of bodily movement. The article starts with Heidegger's contribution to overcoming the subject-object dichotomy and his new understanding of (...) the primacy of the practical involvement with the surrounding world. Heidegger, however, in many ways neglected the role of the human body. Merleau-Ponty took a huge step forward when he focused on the bodily intentionality of our interaction with the world. The next step was taken by Samuel Todes who presented a better understanding of how we are bodily oriented in space. After having seen how the body is oriented outward towards the environment it is proper that the final part of this article goes inward toward the role of bodily awareness and the role of proprioception in human movement. The goal of the presentation is to contribute to a better understanding of what goes on in sport. The article therefore uses examples from sport, especially football, to show the relevance of the new insights for sport studies. (shrink)