A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Path of Mussar

"Love your neighbor" is the central obligation of Jewish life. Mussar, a late 19th century Jewish renewal movement, focused on this precept as a means of self-improvement and spiritual growth. Through the practical applications of Mussar, one can learn how to awaken to a spirituality that is compassionate, moral, and generous. In this book, Rabbi Ira Stone provides a contemporary theological framework for understanding Mussar and describes how participation in a Mussar group can offer support and guidance for this powerful spiritual practice.

"This book is a marvelous gift to a generation seeking new spiritual paths in order to live a richly Jewish and deeply human life. Ira Stone uncovers a neglected treasure in modern Judaism, the 19th century Mussar movement which sought to develop the human being into a mensch by reuniting mitzvot and morality. Stone gives us his post-modern theology of Mussar, guides us through its theory of the process of self-development using its methods of self-improvement. In a final s, Stone shows how, in the mode of Mussar, prayer and halakhah awaken our spirit and teach us to concretize God's love and our love for fellow human beings. The appendix introduces us to one of the great teachers of the Mussar movement, Rabbi Simcha Zissel Broyde of Kelm and translates and annotates excerpts from his writing. This book is a treasure to be read and reread."