Mussar Movement History

The nineteenth-century Mussar movement inspired by Rabbi Israel Salanter didn't just revitalize the Eastern European Jewish world - it saved traditional Judaism. This is the story of the Mussar movement  (היסטוריית תנועת המוסר) as told through the following biographies of Rabbi Israel, his closest followers, and the generations of disciples that came after them. This whole collection of 100+ Mussar books is also available as a PDF here.

Moralist Movement in Russia

The Moralist Movement in Russia by Professor Louis Ginsberg first appeared in the January 1904 edition of The Menorah and can be read in PDF here. 

An expanded version of this article appeared in his 1928 book 'Students, Scholars, and Saints' and can be seen here.

Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Musar Movement

Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Musar Movement, written by Rabbi Kopul Rosen in 1945, is one of the first biographies of Rabbi Yisrael ben Ze'ev Wolf Lipkin of Salant (רבי ישראל ליפקין מסַלַנְט) (1809-1883, Wikipedia). 116 pages. Get it on Amazon or try this search or finding a library copy through Worldcat.

Israel Salanter: Religious-Ethical Thinker

Israel Salanter: The Story of a Religious-Ethical Current in Nineteenth Century Judaism was written by Menahem Glenn, originally published in 1953 by Bloch Publishing for Dropsie College, and republished in 2005 by Yashar Books. 219 pages.

The Musar Movement: Quest for Excellence in Character Education

The Musar Movement: A Quest for Excellence in Character Education by Rabbi Zalman Ury was originally published by Yeshiva University Press in 1970. It was republished in 2001 as Kedushat Avraham, Selected Essays and included two earlier 1968 articles by Ury: 'Bridging the Gap between Ethical Theory and Conduct' and 'The Legacy of Rav Yisrael Salanter'. Get it on Amazon or download a pdf with these three articles.

The Story of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter

The Story of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter was written by Rabbi Zalman Ury in 1971 and republished with illustrations in 2017 by Mosaica Press. 96 pages. Get it here.

The Musar Movement: History, Leading Personalities, Doctrines

The Musar Movement: its History, Leading Personalities and Doctrines is a 1975 translation by Leonard Oschry of the first two volumes of the often-cited five-volume history of the Mussar movement, Tenuat HaMusar (תנועת המוסר) by Rabbi Dov Katz (הרב דב כ"ץ). If there are no copies on Amazon we recommend finding a library copy through WorldCat. 

History of the Musar Movement, 1840-1945

The History of the Musar Movement 1840-1945 was written by Lester Samuel Eckman and published by Shengold in 1975. 174 pages. Get it here.

Teachings of the Fathers of the Musar Movement

Teachings of the Fathers of the Musar Movement was written by Lester Samuel Eckman and published by Shengold in 1975. 134 pages. Get it on Amazon or find a library copy through WorldCat.

Tzaddik in Our Time: The Life of Rabbi Aryeh Levin

A Tzaddik in Our Time: The Life of Rabbi Aryeh Levin was written by Simcha Raz about the saintly Mashgiach of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem (אריה לוין) (1885-1969, Wikipedia) and published by Feldheim in 1976, 1978 (both 468 pages), and 2008 (512 pages).

Israel Salanter: Text, Structure, Idea

Israel Salanter, Text, Structure, Idea: The Ethics and Theology of an Early Psychologist of the Unconscious was written by Hillel Goldberg and published by Ktav in 1982. 358 pages. Get it on Amazon or find a library copy through Worldcat. 

Four years earlier Goldberg wrote his Dissertation 'Rabbi Israel Salanter: A Study Of His Works' which can also be found through Worldcat.

The Story of The Chofetz Chaim

The Story of The Chofetz Chaim came out in 1983 as part of Artscroll's Youth Series, written by Eliezer Gevirtz and illustrated by Yosef Dershowitz. 158 pages. Get it here.

The Chafetz Chaim: Life & Works

The Chafetz Chaim: The Life and Works of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin was written by Moses Yoshor and published by Artscroll as part of their History Series in 1984 and again in 1986 and 2010. 603 pages.

Sparks of Mussar: Treasury of Words and Deeds of the Mussar Greats

Sparks of Mussar: a Treasury of Words and Deeds of the Mussar Greats was written by Chaim Ephraim Zaitchek and published by Feldheim in 1985, 1994, and again in 2014. 260 pages.

The Story of Reb Yisrael Salanter

The Story of Reb Yisrael Salanter: The Legendary Founder of the Mussar Movement was written by Shimon Finkelman and illustrated by Yosef Dershowitz as part of the Artscroll Youth Series in 1986. 96 pages. Get it here.

Fire Within: Living Heritage of the Musar Movement

The Fire Within: The Living Heritage of the Musar Movement was written by Hillel Goldberg and published by Artscroll in 1987. 194 pages. Get it in hardcover or paperback.

Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Mussar Movement: Seeking the Torah of Truth 

Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Mussar Movement: Seeking the Torah of Truth was written by Immanuel Etkes and published by the Jewish Publication Society in 1993. 404 pages. Get it here. 

The Story of Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin

Reb Yisrael Salanter: The Story of Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin was written by Yaacov Dovid Shulman and published by CIS Publishing in 1995 as part of their Biography Series. Get it here (191 pages) or listen to the audiobook version (7:16 hours).

Novarodok: A Movement That Lived in Struggle

Novarodok: A Movement That Lived in Struggle and Its Unique Approach to the Problem of Man was written by Meir Levin and published by Jason Aronson in 1996. 214 pages. Get it here.

Reb Elyah: Life & Accomplishments

Reb Elyah: The Life and Accomplishments of Rabbi Elyah Lopian (1876-1970, Wikipedia) was written by Rabbi David J. Schlossberg and published by Artscroll as part of their History Series in 1999. 296 pages. Get it here.

Rav Dessler: Life & Impact 

Rav Dessler: The Life and Impact of Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, the Michtav m'Eliyahu was written by Yonosan Rosenblum and published by Artscroll in 2000 as part of their History Series. 371 pages. Get it here. 

See also the writings of Rav Dessler in the Top Tep under Strive for Truth.

The Mashgiach: Life & Times of Meir Chodosh

The Mashgiach: The Life and Times of Meir Chodosh was written by Rebbetzin Shulamit Ezrachi about her father Meir Chadash, the great Mashgiach Ruchani or Spiritual Guide of the Hevron Yeshiva (1898-1989, Wikipedia). Published by Artscroll in 2006. 689 pages. Get it here.

Reb Chatzkel, Guardian of Torah and Mussar

Reb Chatzkel, Guardian of Torah and Mussar was written by Rabbi Yitzchak Kasnett about Yechezkel Levenstein (1885-1974, Wikipedia), the Mashgiach of the great Mir Yeshiva, and published by Artscroll as part of their History Series in 2007. 394 pages. Get it here.

Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar

Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar was written by Geoffrey Claussen about the great Alter of Kelm Simcha Zissel Ziv (שמחה זיסל זיו) (1824-1898, Wikipedia), author of one of the greatest Mussar books yet to be translated - Chochmah u'Mussar (חכמה ומוסר). Published by the State University of New York Press in 2016. 260 pages. Get it here.

Rav Yaakov Galinsky: Legendary Maggid with the Fiery Spirit of Novardok

Rav Yaakov Galinsky: The Legendary Maggid with the Fiery Spirit of Novardok was written by Rebbetzin G. Lehrer about her father Yaakov Galinksy (1920-2014, Wikipedia) one of the last from the old world of the Novardok Yeshiva. Published by Feldheim in 2016, 384 pages. Get it here.

Alter of Novardok: Life of Rav Yosef Yoizel Horowitz

The Alter of Novardok: The Life of Rav Yosef Yoizel Horowitz and his Worldwide Impact was written by Rabbi Shlomo Weintraub about the famous Alter of Novardok, Yosef Yozel Hurwitz (יוסף יוזל הורוביץ) (1847-1919, Wikipedia), and published by Feldheim in 2020. 422 pages. Get it here.

The Mussar Movement & Lithuanian Jewry

The 'Mussar' Movement and Lithuanian Jewry  is a reprint from Rabbi Jehiel Jakob (Yechiel Yakov) Weinburg (1884-1966, Wikipedia) with an afterword on the "Mussar Controversy" by Rabbi Eitam Henkin. Edited by Elijah J. Schochet and Menachem Butler and published by Shokey Press in 2022. 110 pages. Get it here.

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