Meaning in the Kitzur

During my first year in yeshiva, I fell into an obvious trap that I later learned to avoid. That trap is taking seriously a rule that no one else follows. Yeshiva College requires (or at least in my day required) students in the Yeshiva Program to study a large section of Shulhan Arukh with Mishnah Berurah each semester and sit for a comprehensive test at the end of the term. So in my first semester, I took the requirement very seriously and set aside a good deal of time every day to prepare for this exam. Little did I know that very few students take the requirement seriously. In later semesters, I still adhered to the curriculum but not as...

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Quotes about Hirhurim

In anticipation of the half-millionth hit on the Hirhurim blog, I am collecting testimonials about the blog. Here is what I have so far:"Gil Student -- the king of frum online batalah [time-wasting]" -- R. Aharon Ross, faculty, Yavneh Academy, Paramus, NJ"Considered by many to be the 'Chief Rabbi' of the Jewish Blogosphere" -- Reference.com and Answers.com"Examines Torah issues in a rather rigorous and intelligently written manner" -- Jason Maoz, Senior Editor of The Jewish Press"A base censor, a rabbinic coward" -- Scott Rosenberg, St. Paul, MN"Gil Student is an anagram for sin-glutted" -- Anonymous commenter"You're not still doing the blog, are you?" -- Dr. Peter Steinherz, Director of Leukemia and Lymphoma Studies, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Hospital"Tell me if you ever put something interesting...

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What's His Name?

The following is a true story. Identities have been changed to protect the innocent.I was asked the following question. Actually, the guy sitting next to me was asked the question and when he didn't know the answer, I uncharacteristically butted in. A learned man said that he wanted to say a "mi she-beirakh" prayer for a sick, elderly neighbor whose Hebrew name he does not know. Given his English name, what Hebrew name do we think he has? Granted, this is a fundamentally flawed exercise because parents sometimes give misleading English/Hebrew names (eg. Nathan/Nachman) and sometimes totally unconnected names (eg. Samuel/Yerachmiel). But given the admitted pitfalls, what do we think this gentleman's Hebrew name is if his English name is Emanuel? Is it Mendel? Meir?I suggested that, perhaps,...

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Fish, Bones, In-laws and Mimeticism

My first major surprise after getting engaged occurred at the Shabbos lunch on my first time with my soon-to-be new family. My mother-in-law-to-be offered "regular" fish or gefilte and I, being risk averse, chose the gefilte option. Everyone else enjoyed my wife-to-be's grandmother's authentic Hungarian fish (my mother-in-law's parents live upstairs from them and, at the time, made the fish for the whole family). You can imagine my absolute shock -- hidden only by sheer will -- when everyone started picking bones out of the fish before eating it. I mean, is that not a classic case of the forbidden borer labor, separating "bad" from "good"? What's next, are they going to drive to synagogue? But I kept this to myself and looked into the issue. It turns out that the matter is not so simple and...

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Torah and Science: Conflict or Convergence?

A Torah In Motion lecture with speakers Professor Nathan Aviezer, Rabbi Michael Broyde and Rabbi Natan Slifkin.Sunday, December 4, 9:30am-4:00pmShaarei Tefillah Congregation, 3600 Bathurst St., Toronto, OntarioExplore how Judaism grapples with forms of scientific knowledge and discovery. Is science an enemy or an ally of religion, or neither? How can we understand the Creation story in light of contemporary cosmology and evolutionary biology? How does one reconcile scientific assertions that conflict with Talmudic statemen...

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Halloween

Just a reminder about two posts from last year about giving out candy on Halloween: I &...

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Maker of Bronze and Iron Tools

Genesis 4:22 "Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools."Was Tubal-cain the originator of the forging of bronze and iron? He seems to have lived in the middle of the Bronze Age and long before the Iron Age.Unlike Jubal and the lyre (v. 20), Tubal-cain is not called the ancestor of all who forge bronze and iron tools. There might very well have been those who made tools and utensils out of these metals prior to Tubal-cain. However, the biblical figure is identified as someone who greatly improved the process (Radak).While the Iron Age did not start until approximately 1,500 years after Tubal-cain's life, there is evidence of meteoric iron being used at that time and even earlier which can explain Tubal-cain's expertise in its forging (Hamilto...

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Blessing Ecclesiastes

Apropos of nothing, a quick post. On Shabbos Hol Ha-Mo'ed morning, I attended a Chaim Berlin minyan. I was not expecting the following to occur and it was the first time I ever saw it. They read Koheles from a scroll -- not so unusual, some synagogues read every haftarah from a scroll -- and recited a blessing of "al mikra megillah" prior to reading. I was so surprised that I actually said "Wow" audibly (I don't normally react that way). And then they said a "she-he-heyanu"! Sure, I knew immediately that they were following the practice of the Vilna Gaon. I just had never actually seen it. Cool! It was worth walking all that way in the pouring rain just for th...

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Quick Musing On Simhas Torah

Simhas Torah is about the only time I'll submit to the claims of how allegedly discriminatory Orthodox Judaism is against women. Simply put, it stinks to be a female on Simhas Torah.I mean, look at them! They just sit or stand and stare at the men dancing. How lame is that? How boring is that? I understand, in our community most women either have little children of their own or grandchildren who keep them busy. But what about the teenagers and older singles? And those grandmothers who don't have grandchildren with them at that time or the women all of whose children are old enough to dance with the men? I see them in shul staring at us and if they're not bored, I'm bored for them.Why can't they just dance in the women's section? It's not like they need Torah scrolls to dance. They should just...

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Rashi the Egg Salesman

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Dr. Haym Soloveitchik has pointed out that there is no evidence to support the common claim that Rashi was a vintner. Here is the exact quote from Dr. Soloveitchik's article "Can Halakhic Texts Talk History?" in AJS Review 1978, pp. 172-173:Jewish communities were generally tiny, averaging from a handful to a score of families and tended (in the county of Champagne) to make their own wine. As the crude state of barrel making made the ageing of wine and its long-range storage impossible, wine was usually produced anew every fall. An entire year's consumption had to be provided for in the treading of September and early October, but since the High Holidays and Sukkot fell in these months, the time available for grape pressing was limited indeed. In contrast,...

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Learning vs. Knowing II

Almost exactly one year ago, I blogged about the importance of mastering the entire Torah. I know, easier said than done.Interestingly, I found that R. Moshe Hayim Luzzatto (Ramhal) states that, from a kabbalistic perspective, studying the entire Torah is important. In Derekh Hashem (4:2:4, Kaplan translation), he writes:There is no element in all creation that is not rectified through the Torah. Furthermore, each element of the Torah has the ability to perfect some part of creation.An individual who wants to serve his Creator with complete devotion must therefore involve himself in every aspect of the Torah to the best of his ability. Through this, he can take part in the rectification of all creation.In the most recent issue of Hakirah, a sponsor of this blog, the journal's editor, Heshey...

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Cloning

Torah Currents has an article by R. Michael J. Broyde about cloning. Here's an excerpt:While some religious traditions, most notably Roman Catholicism, view all tampering with nature in the reproductive area as wrong, that is by no means true for most religious or ethical traditions, including Judaism... Indeed, one is hard pressed to find a religiously neutral reason why cloning would be intrinsically bad in cases where other means of treating infertility would not work...Cloning, like artificial insemination and surrogacy when they first appeared, has narcissistic possibilities. In reality, however, it will most frequently be used as a treatment for drastic infertility, and like all forms of of assisted reproductive technologies has its place in one of the central missions of humanity: to...

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Vomiting in Halakhah II

Let's say that you are in bed, reading magazines and recovering from a stomach virus. You think you're well enough to have a go at some toast but then discover that your stomach is not yet strong enough for it. After you lose your lunch, you go back to sitting in bed and reading magazines. You are clearly not too ill to bentsch (recite the grace after the meal) but should you? Or let's say, as my wife pointed out to me, that you are pregnant and suffering from "morning sickness". Vomiting is so frequent that it is a non-event. You eat lunch and then get nauseous. You vomit and are immediately back in action. Should you bentsch?On the one hand, once a full meal has entered the stomach for even a short time, one seems to be obligated in bentsching. Therefore, even if one later vomits it, one...

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Kuntres She-Lo Ya'alu Ke-Homah IV

Do Not Ascend Like A Wallby Rabbi Shlomo AvinerRabbi of Beit El and Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Cohanim, Yerushalayimtranslated by Rabbi Mordechai Friedfertigprinted with permission(continued from here)3. Violation of the Nations of the World of their oath, nullified all of the OathsIn the Talmud in Ketubot, among the Oaths, "The Holy One, Blessed be He, made the idol worshippers swear not to subjugate Israel excessively." And it is written in the Shulchan Aruch: "Two who swore to do something, and one of them violates the oath, the other one is exempt and does not require a release [from the oath],"[125] and since the non-Jews violated their oath, we are exempt from our oath.1. Thus wrote the students of the Rashba that if the non-Jews subjugate Israel excessively, this causes that Hashem awakens...

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Michelle (Daman) Wasserman z"l

Barukh Dayan Ha-EmesA high school classmate, married to a high school classmate.I'll b"n post shivah information when I get it.UPDATE: Shiva information h...

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Musings on Prayer Texts

I decided to see some more local scenery today so instead of going to my regular synagogue, I went to one of the other 11 synagogues (that I know about) within 5 blocks of my house. I went to the synagogue my neighbor -- of bris and eruv fame -- attends, and an interesting thought occurred to me while there. This is the part where I offend half my readers, so let me first wish a hearty mazel tov to my neighbor's entire family on their joyous occasion (while I'm at it, I'll wish a mazel tov to R. Daniel Z. Feldman, whose son Ya'akov Simcha was circumcised Monday afternoon).The synagogue starts services at 9am -- a ridiculously late time to start for people who normally pray at 7am or earlier, but tradition is to pray later on Yom Tov (Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayim 529:1) and, regardless, when in...

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The Meme

This meme* has been going around the Jewish blogosphere and DovBear asked me to continue it. So here goes (those looking for profundity should stick to posts about kugel and vomiting):[Significantly updated]7 Things I Can Do:* Recite the English alphabet backwards really fast* Clap using only one hand* Spell* Remember lyrics to songs and detailed plot lines from TV shows, movies and books I haven't seen or heard in decades* Write clearly and concisely, despite my abysmal grades in English courses* Listen* Make my wife and kids laugh7 Things I Can't Do:* Speak in one foreign language at a time* Stop from cracking up when my daughter translates Humash into Yiddish* Finish a project* Clear my e-mail inbox* Call friends and family members on a regular basis (as my mother nods while reading this)*...

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And Now a Word From Our Sponsor

You might notice the advertisement on the right, featuring a picture of R. Moshe Eisemann. Rabbi Eisemann humbly tells the story of the yeshiva in Kishiniev and his involvement with it here. Please take the time to visit the yeshiva's website, enjoy the free Torah from Rabbi Eisemann, and donate to the yeshiva.(More on this blog's other sponsor, the journal Hakirah, in the near futu...

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Love Letters from a Rosh Yeshivah

The title of this post, Love Letters from a Rosh Yeshivah, is a fake-out. Sorry. I'm not sure who started the rumor that R. Nosson Kamenetsky's Making of a Godol contains a report about R. Aharon Kotler's love letters to his fiance, but that is entirely false. What follows is the entire short passage in the book and it is a far stretch to suggest that the letters are love letters. The suggestion of the author is that the letter discussed R. Kotler's popular lectures to fellow students in the yeshivah he was attending, an action that does not fit the highest rung of modesty. From the "Improved Edition" of Making of a Godol, p. 802 n. v:A reliable source reported that R' Aaron wrote a letter to his fiancee of which her father, R' Isser-Zalman Meltzer, disapproved. When it was shown to the Alter,...

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The Camel, The Hare, And The Hyrax V

I.The author of the critique writes: "I squarely deal with the issue of the Torah -via the Talmud- claiming knowledge of an exhaustive list of animals with one kosher sign."Whatever. Not worth debating.II.I had written that "[t]he author states that the identification of the shesu'ah as a separate creature is part of the Oral Torah and cannot be denied."He responds: "This is not my personal opinion. It is of Rashi on Chumash..."Nowhere does Rashi state that it is a part of the Oral Torah.III.I had explained that there is a specific category of Torah explanations that have been received from Sinai and which tell us exactly what the Torah means in a specific instance. We are not allowed to deviate from that explanation and offer alternatives. However, when lacking such a tradition, we are free...

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Torah Currents

The past few weeks has seen a flurry of activity over on Torah Currents. It's probably worth your while to print out some of the material for reading (I've only read some of it so fa...

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Learning Torah on the Subway III

Following up on this post, I saw that the Kitzur Shulhan Arukh (150:2) explicitly states that one may think (have hirhur) about Torah while facing nakedne...

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The Grand Blog Name Contest Extravaganza! II

The results are in from the vote on this blog's name. Of the 200+ votes, almost two-thirds don't want me to change the name of the blog and the other third are very divided about what new name they want. So, I'm leaving the blog named Hirhurim but it is also accessible via the URL for the name that came in second, Torah Musings. It seems some wiseguy already bought the URL for Hirhurim.com but hasn't done anything with it yet.As to the contest, it seems nobody won the most excellent book Israel Salanter: Religious-Ethical Thinker (more about the book here; buy it here).I'll have to come up with a new contest over Sukkos so I can give the book...

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Bris in a Sukkah

Mazel to my neighbor, whose recently born son will be welcome in my home even on Shabbos, thanks to our new eruv.The bris will God-willing be held on the second day of Sukkos. Interestingly, this case emphasizes a surprising point. A bride and groom's sheva berakhos need not be in a sukkah if there is not enough room for all of the invited guests, which there probably will not be. However, the Rema (Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayim 640:6) writes that the meal for a bris must be held in a sukkah. What is the difference between a sheva berakhos and a bris' meal?In the responsum of the Maharik (quoted in the Beis Yosef and Magen Avraham) that is the source for the Rema, the Maharik writes that a sheva berakhos is a great mitzvah while a meal at a bris is "just" a custom. The Vilna Gaon, in his glosses...

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Honor Roll II

All is forgiven. It was actually forgiven long before Yom Kippur, but the public recognition is much appreciated. Jason Maoz, senior editor of The Jewish Press, added to his list of blogs after "a disconcertingly large number of e-mails and phone calls." Hirhurim and Menachem Butler's AJ History blog were added and Dov Bear was mocked without being named (see the paragraph starting, "In the sour grapes department").I bumped into R. Yaakov Klass on Yom Kippur and he greeted me, as usual, with his typical joyous salutation, but I thought I saw an extra smile on his face (granted, it was dark and pouring rain, so it could have been imagined). This might explain it.Now I'll just have to wait and see how long until my mother-in-law, who reads every issue of The Jewish Press from cover to cover,...

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Yom Kippur

Gemar hasimah tovah! May you be sealed for the go...

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Blogs and Lashon Ha-Ra IV

R. Dr. Asher Meir on writing negative reviews: here."Honest and informative criticism is a vital contribution to the progress of art. But caustic, one-sided criticism is virtually certain to fail to do justice to the artist and, even more importantly, to the audienc...

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Lulav Shopping

I bought my set of four species tonight. I think the whole set was only a little more expensive than usual. I paid separately and more for a lulav, but the esrog was cheaper. Overall, I think the whole set was about 15-20% more expensive than in previous years, which is not bad considering the reported shortage of lulav...

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Vote for a New Name

Please only vote once. I reserve the right to ignore the results of this poll.Which of these names do you think is best for this blog?HirhurimIyunimTorahStudentGilStudentThinkTorahStudentsGuideTorahThoughtsTorahMusings  Free polls from Pollhost....

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The Camel, The Hare, And The Hyrax IV

I.There is a critique circulating of some of R. Nosson Slifkin's books by an anonymous self-described student of R. Moshe Meiselman, speaking for himself and not for his mentor. This post will deal with his review of The Camel, the Hare, & the Hyrax. (No link provided because the author decided, on the day after Rosh Hashanah, to post online personal insults directed at R. Slifkin and me)Oddly, the author chooses to deal with a section of about 10 pages (out of a 200+ page book) that deals with a side issue not really part of the book's main topic. The main theses of the book remain entirely unchallenged, other than the personal insults of R. Slifkin which presumably apply to the book as a whole.The topic chosen by the author to contest is an analysis of the following passage from Hullin...

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The Grand Blog Name Contest Extravaganza!

Here at corporate headquarters, the marketing department* has convinced management** that this blog's maximum potential is being hindered by the unwieldy product name. After careful market research***, management has yielded to the request to change the product's naming scheme.To further this goal, this blog will be holding a CONTEST EXTRAVAGANZA for a new name, the winner of which will receive a FREE COPY of the excellent book Israel Salanter: Religious-Ethical Thinker (more about the book here; buy it here).Here are the rules:1. Either:A. Think of a good name and post it in the comments section with your e-mail addressorB. E-mail me the name...

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Respect for Torah Teachers

The Baraisa Kinyan Torah (Pirkei Avos ch. 6) no. 3 states:One who learns from his fellow a single chapter [of Torah], a single law, a single verse, a single statement, or even a single letter must treat him with honor. For so we find with David, King of Israel, who learned from Ahisofel two things alone and he called him his teacher, his guide, and his intimate, as it is said: "And you are a man of my worth, my guide and intimate" (Psalms 55:14). And does not this matter allow for an a fortiori (kal va-homer) logical deduction: If David, King of Israel, who learned from Ahisofel two things alone, called him his teacher, guide and intimate, one who learns from his fellow one chapter, one law, one verse, one statement, or even one letter, all the more so must he treat him with honor.This is...

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Frum Nobel Prize Winner

Prof. Robert J. (Yisrael) Aumann of Hebrew University was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his research in game theory (link). He's not just an Israeli-American, but he is also Orthodox and has written on mathematical issues in the Talmud (as reported in Ha'aretz). I'm sure I saw somewhere that his brother-in-law was the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Sha'alvim (UPDATE: Here's where I saw it).There is an extensive interview with Prof. Aumann available on the Hebrew U website (lin...

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Vomiting in Halakhah

This is the first in a series of brief posts about the status of vomiting in halakhah. While this might seem like a somewhat bizarre topic, the issues are actually quite relevant. The current topic -- vomiting on Yom Kippur -- is hopefully not an issue for most readers. However, the two subsequent topics will probably be issues that arise every once in a while in the average observant Jew's life (although hopefully not too often).The central passage to this issue is Hullin 103b, which states that for most prohibitions of eating the violation is the enjoyment of the taste (hana'as gerono) rather than the settling of the food in the stomach (hana'as me'av). Therefore, if one eats a ke-zayis (olive's worth) of a prohibited food and then vomits it, one is liable for violating the prohibition because...

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Timely Dikdukim

I. Hemes or Heimes?In the Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the word חמת (bottle/skin) appears three times: Gen. 21:14, 15, 19. In the second place, it is punctillated with an esnahta mark, which implies a comma/pause. Vowels at an esnahta are frequently elongated.The Koren Tanakh punctuates חמת in verse 19 as hemes (חֶמֶת ), with an elongated vowel, as opposed to how it appears in the other two verses (heimes חֵמֶת ) and contrary to what is found in most printed Bibles. The Artscroll Machzor for Rosh Hashanah includes this variant spelling/pronunciation in its presentation of the Torah reading for the first day.I checked the Breuer Tanakh and it has the word as heimes (חֵמֶת ), without an elongated vowel. Mechon Mamre does also.II. Those Who WaitThis morning's selihos quote...

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Clergy Appreciation Day

This Sunday is Clergy Appreciation Day. I assume the makers of the holiday wanted to wait until after the Shabbos Shuvah derashah so we can decide whether or not we want to appreciate our clergym...

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Yashar Books in YU Review

Details he...

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Random Rosh Hashanah Reflections

1. For the past ten years, I've spent Rosh Hashanah with my parents (in Modern Orthodox-land) and Yom Kippur in Brooklyn (in Ultra Orthodox-land). This year, since my grandmother did not fly up from Florida for the holiday, my wife suggested finally staying home for Rosh Hashanah and I insisted that we not. Here are some of my reasons:A. My parents enjoy us being there (and we enjoy it also -- I know you're reading this)B. The level of hazzanus simply cannot be compared. The MO shul has many more attendees so can afford an expert cantor. In my UO experience, we end up with some-guy-from-kollel who can manage to get through the service (which is much more than I can do). A number of years ago, the MO shul hired a cantor who I later kept bumping into in Brooklyn. He is -- hands down -- the best...

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Jewish Action on Frumteens

Some sharp letter about Frumteens in the current issue of Jewish Action (here -- PDF). R. Yitzchok Adlerstein refers to the moderator's positions as "so extreme that we should be more than wary of anything he says." He also mentions "the reprehensible attitudes that Frumteens displays towards a variety of important Orthodox personalities and institutions."Letters from two frequent commenters to this blog, Nachum Lamm and Steve Brizel, prompted this frank and explicit statement by R. Adlerste...

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The Problem of Unrequested Forgiveness

From R. Daniel Z. Feldman, The Right and the Good: Halakhah and Human Relations, pp. 145-146 (buy the book):Were a waiver of claims the only goal of the [forgiveness] process, it would follow that if the victim would forgive of his own initiative, without waiting for his oppressor to seek his pardon, the latter gesture would become redundant. Nonetheless, many authorities who concern themselves with this issue indicate that a request for forgiveness is necessary even if the other party has already excused the offense. R. Binyamin Yehoshua Zilber, among others, maintains that the obligation to seek mechilah is operative regardless.[10] However, R. Yehoshua Ehrenberg is inclined to believe that unrequested forgiveness is enough.[11]A story related by the Talmud[12] is cited by those who agree...

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Honor Roll

Yet another Jewish newspaper doesn't include Hirhurim in its list of blogs.The funny thing is that after a speech I gave a few weeks ago, an employee of the weekly -- who oddly took slight offense at a mention of the paper that was entirely neutral* -- implied that my blog is read there. But at least DovBear and Godol Hador weren't listed either.On the other hand, Cross-Currents was. As were both Joseph and Marvin Schick, the latter's blog consisting mainly of his columns in The Jewish Week.* In listing the reasons that I find writing a blog preferable to writing a column in a newspaper, I used that paper as an example. (If you want to know the reasons, you'll have to come and hear me speak sometim...

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Hilkhos Teshuvah

Rambam's Hilkhos Teshuvah: Hebrew, Engl...

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5766

I wish you all a wonderful, sweet and meaningful new year. May you be inscribed and sealed for good (and your three friends Alter, Hayim and Shalo...

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Simana Milsa

A rationalist explanation of simana milsa by R. Yehuda Prero (link):The Gemora in the tractate of Kerisus (6a) states "Abaye said 'Now that you have said that an omen is significant, at the beginning of each year, each person should accustom himself to eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates...'." Because of this Gemora, it is a custom to eat these listed foods, as well as other foods, which represent good things. (We will soon explore how exactly these foods are representative of good things.) The issue that must first be addressed is why do we "indulge" in omens at the beginning of the year, on Rosh HaShana? As we will soon see, there are many, many different omens and customs. Why do we eat these foods on this occasion?The goal of these omens is to act as a reminder. By eating all...

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Dr. Brill on R. Aharon Lichtenstein

I wrote a review -- or really, just gave my impressions in a blog post -- of Dr. Alan Brill's review essay of R. Aharon Lichtenstein's three recent books over a month ago (here) and I've been thinking about it ever since. For most of the few weeks, I've been carrying around the article with me and I've read it numerous times and underlined it extensively with various notations.I don't know Dr. Brill. I've never met him and I know very little about him. I think that I read his essay with relatively few preconceived notions and arrived at my opinion of it based on what I saw and nothing else. But R. Ari Kahn, an old friend of Dr. Brill's and someone whom I like and respect, wrote in the comments that I misread the article. Did I? Did I improperly malign Dr. Brill and his work?For starters, it...

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Blogs and Lashon Ha-Ra III

In my previous post, I wrote: "One may discuss negative stories about general public leaders provided that one is certain that the stories are true (or adds appropriately worded caveats)"A commenter asked where permission is mentioned to relay stories about which one is not entirely certain, as implied by the parenthetic remark above. See Hafetz Hayim, Hilkhos Rekhilus, chapter 9 note 9 and note the important details and cavea...

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Another Book on Open Access

We have another book up on Open Access! This one is just in time for the Yamim Nora'im / High Holiday season.About half a year ago, we posted Rabbi David Jay Derovan's haggadah on Open Access and it was quickly downloaded by many people. Rabbi Derovan was kind enough to make available a collection of his essays on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot for Open Access as well.It is available for free download at http://yasharbooks.com/Open/#currentEnj...

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The Course in Mussar

Unpaid advertisement:MUSSAR is a little-known but ancient Jewish spiritual tradition that provides practical tools for soulful living. Recently, hundreds of people have been rediscovering the beauty, power and wisdom of Mussar teachings and practices, under the guidance of Alan Morinis (author of "Climbing Jacob’s Ladder") and Shirah Bell. The goal of Mussar practice is to foster a personal sense of "shlemut," Hebrew for "wholeness." Mussar shows you the steps to take to work through your personal spiritual curriculum and to move closer to the inner wholeness that is your potential and your calling. Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian (1876-1970) defines the work of Mussar as "Making the heart feel what the mind knows." Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe (1914-2005) calls it "building your interior world."THE COURSE IN...

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