[Avodah] Critique of Mussar

[Prof. Levine]

At 03:04 PM 1/29/2008, David Riceman wrote:

>A friend from Jerusalem stopped by last week, and we chatted for a few
>hours.  One of his remarks struck me as worth repeating here.  He told
>me that when he reads mussar sefarim he gets the impression of small
>mindedness; the concerns are very petty.  Whereas when he reads Rabbi
>Kook "ze mamash marhiv et hada'at."
>
>Any comments (I'll reserve my own)?
>
>David Riceman

I do not think that one has to study mussar seforim to incorporate 
the results of the movement into one's actions. Personally, I do not 
think that the theory is important today. There is so much to learn 
from the actions of the great master, Reb Yisroel Salanter. I find it 
interesting that there are so many stories about the life of RYS 
extant. One can learn a velt of mussar from these stories. Perhaps it 
is not necessary to read mussar seforim or to dwell on the 
theoretical aspects of mussar. To understand where I am coming from please see
"<http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?contentid=19683&mode=a&sectionid=61&contentname=Frum_or_Ehrlich?&recnum=7>Frum 
or Ehrliche?" The Jewish Press, October 20, 2006, page 1.



Yitzchok Levine 
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