- Setting up a va’ad
- Articles by and about R’ Avraham Elya Kaplan
- Articles by and about Dr Nathan Birnbaum and Ha’olim
- R’ YG Bechhofer’s home page (some mussar many not)
- OFF SITE: Cong Tzemach Dovid’s Collection of mussar articles and links, maintained by our chaveir, R’ Bennet Ruda
- Sefarim (images and translations) available around the web
Setting up a va’ad
AishDas is committed to using mussar as a means of keeping the forest of Torah in sight while performing the various trees of din.
As part of that, we are organizing ve’adei mussar (lit: mussar comittees), in a number of neighborhoods. We are following the format outlined by Rav Wolbe shlita in Alei Shur vol. 2. This involves developing various middos through pragmatic excercises. A more detailed guideline is available here.
Relevant material from Alei Shur vol II by R’ Wolbe, (thanks to R’ Bennett Ruda for placing the originals on-line, translations by Micha Berger):
- Va’ad mussar – a very brief introduction.
- Hislamdus (Teaching Oneself) – the art of learning from ones surrounding and ones own actions. A sample series of ve’adim that an AishDas va’ad would begin with to get acclimated with the basic process (translation)
- How to learn Mussar – the methodology, recommended bibliography, etc… (translation)
- Removing the impediments to learning Mussar – a list of traps the potential mussar can fall into. (translation)
- One such trap, “Frumkeit” – an unthinking instinct of religiosity that gets in the way of thoughtful service of G-d. (excerpt translation,discussion of full essay)
R’ Bennet Ruda also placed R’ Eliyahu Dessler’s short guide to learning how to be ma’avir al midosav (not overly focussed on oneself and one’s rights) on his shul’s web site (translation). It could be useful for creating a series of ve’adim on that middah.
Contact info:
- Flatbush: R’ Gil Student
- Elizabeth: Bennett Ruda or Moshe Feldman
- Monsey: R’ Yosef Gavriel Bechofer
- Passaic, or for help setting up your own: Micha Berger
Dr Nathan Birnbaum and Ha’olim
Under contruction!
| Some 65 years ago, ago the renowned Western European ba’al teshuva, Dr. Nosson Birnbaum zt”l attempted to found a movement, “Ha’Olim” (The Ascenders), to bring the pathways of Eastern European avodah and his’orerus to the West. It was an attempt to bring Mussar out of the yeshiva and into a communal structure. His work was cut short by the tragic events of the time.
Ha’Olim is the nearest historical precedent to The AishDas Society. Links (so far):
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Sifrei Mussar: Primary Sources Available from Around the Web:
- Igeres haMussar
- the text in original Hebrew (off-site)
- Igeres haMussar with an academic translation by Menachem Glenn, from his biography of Rav Yisrael Salanter.
- Igeres haMussar: a more colloquial translation and commentary by Rav Zvi Miller, from his translation of Or Yisrael (w/out Hebrew)
- Mesilas Yesharim
- Tomer Devorah
- Sha’arei Teshuvah
- Maavir al Midosav: A page from Michtav meiEliyahu, in translation.
- Igeres haGra (the translator isn’t identified)
- Igeres haRamban (the translator isn’t identified).
- Igeres haRamban (the translator still isn’t identified). Pirchei Shoshanim’s presentation for children (55 sections), complete with pages to color.
