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. (We've also made this whole collection of 100+ Mussar books available as a PDF to our members.)

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.