Geoffrey Claussen | Elon University (original) (raw)

Book Excerpts by Geoffrey Claussen

Research paper thumbnail of Jewish Virtue Ethics (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2023)

State University of New York Press, 2023

What is good character? What are the traits of a good person? How should virtues be cultivated? H... more What is good character? What are the traits of a good person? How should virtues be cultivated? How should vices be avoided? The history of Jewish literature is filled with reflection on questions of character and virtue such as these, reflecting a wide range of contexts and influences. Beginning with the Bible and culminating with twenty-first-century feminism and environmentalism, Jewish Virtue Ethics explores thirty-five influential Jewish approaches to character and virtue.

Virtue ethics has been a burgeoning field of moral inquiry among academic philosophers in the postwar period. Although Jewish ethics has also flourished as an academic (and practical) field, attention to the role of virtue in Jewish thought has been underdeveloped. This volume seeks to illuminate its centrality not only for readers primarily interested in Jewish ethics but also for readers who take other approaches to virtue ethics, including within the Western virtue ethics tradition. The original essays written for this volume provide valuable sources for philosophical reflection.

“This is a fantastic book. Its contribution to the field of virtue ethics is significant because it provides a sweep of Judaic treatments of the topic, and its contribution to the field of Jewish ethics will be invaluable due to the relative dearth of material on virtue ethics thus far. It will be a cherished and, I hope, widely used resource.” — Jonathan K. Crane, coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality

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Research paper thumbnail of Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought

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Research paper thumbnail of Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar (excerpt from ch. 1)

Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar (SUNY Press), 2015

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Papers by Geoffrey Claussen

Research paper thumbnail of Moses and the Kid, Judah and the Calf, and the Disavowal of Compassion: Reading Rabbinic Stories with The Question of the Animal and Religion

The Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 2023

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Research paper thumbnail of Musar in a White Supremacist Society: Arrogance, Self-Examination, and Systemic Change

No Time for Neutrality: American Rabbinic Voices from an Era of Upheaval, 2021

This essay discusses the arrogance of white supremacy through the lens of the tradition of musar,... more This essay discusses the arrogance of white supremacy through the lens of the tradition of musar, the Jewish ethical tradition focused on cultivating virtues and resisting vices. I consider ways in which musar traditions might or might not be helpful in the work of challenging and dismantling unjust systems.

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Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Modern Jewish Ethics Through Role-Play

Journal of Jewish Ethics, 2020

This article considers the use of role-playing pedagogy in an undergraduate Jewish Ethics course,... more This article considers the use of role-playing pedagogy in an undergraduate Jewish Ethics course, focusing on a course activity in which students represented diverse modern Jewish thinkers and debated how Jews should understand particular moral virtues. As an example, this article describes a class in which students represented seven modern Jews with diverse perspectives on altruistic love, kindness, and compassion and engaged in character with questions regarding gender, violence, and who is included in the commandment to love one’s fellow, among other issues. This article explores how such role-playing engaged students and challenged them to think critically about the views of others, the construction of virtue, the diversity of modern Jewish ethical traditions, and their own approaches to ethics.

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Research paper thumbnail of Musar and Jewish Veganism

Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and New Directions, 2019

This essay explores how wisdom gleaned from the Musar movement may inspire and enrich Jewish vega... more This essay explores how wisdom gleaned from the Musar movement may inspire and enrich Jewish vegan practices. It focuses on approaches to loving-kindness, compassion, empathy, and self-restraint found in the writings of some of the most prominent figures in the early generations of the Musar movement: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv of Kelm (1824-1898), Rabbi Natan Tzevi Finkel of Slobodka (1849-1927), and Rabbi Yeruham Ha-Levi Levovitz of Mir (1873?-1936).

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Research paper thumbnail of "I Will Be with Them": God at the Burning Bush as an Ideal of Compassion for All Creatures

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, 2019

In this essay, I consider God as the ideal of compassion for all sentient beings. I ground this t... more In this essay, I consider God as the ideal of compassion for all sentient beings. I ground this theology in the narrative of Moses’s encounter with God at the burning bush, as described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus and in classical midrashic texts.

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Research paper thumbnail of Two Orthodox Approaches to Vulnerability and the Exodus Narrative: The Stranger in the Writings of Irving Greenberg and Meir Kahane

Studies in Judaism, Humanities, and the Social Sciences, 2018

This article explores the depiction of the vulnerable “stranger” in the writings of two Orthodox ... more This article explores the depiction of the vulnerable “stranger” in the writings of two Orthodox rabbis, Irving Greenberg and Meir Kahane, in light of how they understand biblical discourse about the people of Israel’s experience as “strangers in the land of Egypt” and their liberation from slavery. Greenberg, developing his theologically liberal Orthodoxy, emphasizes universal human dignity and the Jewish obligation to provide refuge, support, and empowerment for oppressed others. Kahane, developing his supremacist and militant form of Orthodoxy, emphasizes how Jews are uniquely oppressed and vulnerable, as strangers, such that they need to be separated from non-Jews who threaten them by denying Jewish superiority. The article analyzes how these two thinkers proceed from common assumptions, develop their arguments with reference to the biblical Exodus narrative, and dispute what it means to be a vulnerable stranger.

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Research paper thumbnail of War, Musar, and the Construction of Humility in Modern Jewish Thought

Interreligious Studies and Interreligious Theology, 2018

This article considers how the musar (virtue-focused) tradition in Jewish ethics may shape Jewish... more This article considers how the musar (virtue-focused) tradition in Jewish ethics may shape Jewish moral judgments on questions of war and peace, focusing on various constructions of the virtue of humility in modern Jewish thought. It gives particular attention to concepts of humility advanced by Menachem Mendel Lefin, the leading figure of the Polish Haskalah, and it suggests that Lefin’s model of critical self-assessment, especially if carried out in partnership with those from different nations or traditions, could help to restrain the misplaced pride, enthusiasm, and impulses to dehumanize enemies that may emerge at times of war. The article brings Lefin’s approach into dialogue with three Jewish thinkers who argued that proper humility should in some cases encourage the use of violence and even the dehumanization of enemies: the Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv, the American Reform rabbi Kaufmann Kohler, and the militant Israeli Orthodox rabbi Meir Kahane.

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Research paper thumbnail of Repairing Character Traits and Repairing the Jews: The Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin in the Nineteenth Century

Polin, 2018

This article explores some of the unique characteristics of the Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin,... more This article explores some of the unique characteristics of the Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin, the Musar movement educational institutions founded by Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv in the late 19th century. I consider these institutions' unique curricula, their efforts to influence Jewish education by exporting their model of musar study to other yeshivas, the ways that they were rejected by many Jews and especially by rabbinic authorities, and their efforts to separate themselves from many aspects of Jewish society while nevertheless hoping to effect social change. I argue that the Talmud Torahs had limited success in directly influencing Jewish society on the whole, but that they did have a significant influence on the development of traditional Jewish education in eastern Europe. The article appears in a special issue of Polin dedicated to Jewish Education in Eastern Europe, edited by Eliyana R. Adler and Antony Polonsky.

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Research paper thumbnail of Angels, Humans, and the Struggle for Moral Excellence in the Writings of Meir Simhah of Dvinsk and Simhah Zissel of Kelm

Jewish Religious and Philosophical Ethics, ed. Curtis Hutt, Halla Kim, and Berel Dov Lerner, 2018

This paper contrasts the thought of two Lithuanian rabbis: Rabbi Meir Simhah of Dvinsk (1843-1926... more This paper contrasts the thought of two Lithuanian rabbis: Rabbi Meir Simhah of Dvinsk (1843-1926) and Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv of Kelm (1824-1898). The paper considers questions about the value of philosophical contemplation, how difficult moral transformation may be, whether acts of loving-kindness constitute the highest form of human spirituality, and how human beings may be compared with angels.

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Research paper thumbnail of Constructing Interreligious Studies: Thinking Critically About Interfaith Studies and the Interfaith Movement

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Research paper thumbnail of The Promise and Limits of R. Simhah Zissel Ziv’s Musar: A Response to Miller, Cooper, Pugh, and Peters

Journal of Jewish Ethics, 2017

This article is part of a roundtable discussion on Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv an... more This article is part of a roundtable discussion on Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar. Responding to Christian Miller, I consider the tensions found in Simḥah Zissel Ziv's view of the soul, how Simḥah Zissel sees human beings as inclining toward evil, and how he tends to recommend measures that are more demanding than those typically tested by psychological researchers. Responding to Andrea Dara Cooper, I pay particular attention to Cooper's question regarding the tension between Simḥah Zissel's expansive view of fellowship and his lack of support for his family, and focuses on the constructions of gender that produce this tension. Responding to Jeffrey Pugh, I explore the clear limits to Simḥah Zissel's tolerance for criticism, questions, and disobedience. Responding to Rebecca Todd Peters, I consider various ways in which Simḥah Zissel's legacy has been appropriated, and I give particular attention to ways that his thought has been used to support critical thinking about structural injustices and social change.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Kaddish, the Allegory of the Cave, and the Golden Calf: Meditations on Education and the Encounter with God

Kaddish, ed. David Birnbaum and Martin S. Cohen, 2016

Grounded in the idea that God is a moral ideal that invites our continual reflection and growth, ... more Grounded in the idea that God is a moral ideal that invites our continual reflection and growth, and drawing on the biblical narrative of the golden calf and the Platonic allegory of the cave, this essay considers how the words of the Kaddish may help Jews encounter God through the activity of study.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Legacy of the Kelm School of Musar on Questions of Work, Wealth and Poverty

Wealth and Poverty in Jewish Tradition, ed. Leonard J. Greenspoon, 2015

This paper explores how a variety of contemporary Jews have drawn on the ideas of the virtue-focu... more This paper explores how a variety of contemporary Jews have drawn on the ideas of the virtue-focused Kelm school of the Musar (Mussar) movement in formulating visions of how the Jewish tradition should best respond to poverty. The paper begins by exploring perspectives on wealth and poverty in the thought of the 19th century founder of the Musar movement, Rabbi Israel Salanter, and his primary disciple, Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv of Kelm. I then turn to three contemporary perspectives on wealth and poverty that build on the legacy of Simhah Zissel’s Kelm school in very different ways: ultra-Orthodox rabbis who praise voluntary poverty and disdain commerce; an American rabbi and business consultant who has harnessed the ideas and practices of the Musar movement in offering a path to personal prosperity; and the development organization American Jewish World Service’s use of models from Kelm in its human-rights-focused anti-poverty work in India.

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Research paper thumbnail of Pinḥas, the Quest for Purity, and the Dangers of Tikkun Olam

Tikkun Olam: Judaism, Humanism & Transcendence, ed. David Birnbaum and Martin S. Cohen, 2015

This essay argues that programs for the “repair of the world” (tikkun olam) are often marked by a... more This essay argues that programs for the “repair of the world” (tikkun olam) are often marked by arrogance, overzealousness, and injustice. I consider the biblical interpretations of Meir Kahane and Yitzchak Ginsburgh and point to the need to acknowledge our human limitations as we develop our visions for tikkun olam. Part of what this essay suggests is that figures like Kahane and Ginsburgh participate in the musar tradition through their arguments about the nature and application of various virtues and vices. The improvement of the musar tradition, I think, requires guarding against the sorts of moral and intellectual errors that are exemplified in their teachings.

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Research paper thumbnail of A Jewish Perspective on War, Scripture, and Moral Accounting

Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 2015

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Research paper thumbnail of Introducing Jewish Studies Through Jewish Thought and Practice

Shofar, 2014

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Research paper thumbnail of The Practice of Musar

Conservative Judaism, 2012

In this article, I make some suggestions about how the legacy of the nineteenth-century Mussar mo... more In this article, I make some suggestions about how the legacy of the nineteenth-century Mussar movement might best guide contemporary Jewish practice. I consider, in particular, the Mussar movement's vision of how a broad range of practices can spur moral development, and how this model might apply to contemporary Conservative Judaism.

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Research paper thumbnail of Jewish Virtue Ethics (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2023)

State University of New York Press, 2023

What is good character? What are the traits of a good person? How should virtues be cultivated? H... more What is good character? What are the traits of a good person? How should virtues be cultivated? How should vices be avoided? The history of Jewish literature is filled with reflection on questions of character and virtue such as these, reflecting a wide range of contexts and influences. Beginning with the Bible and culminating with twenty-first-century feminism and environmentalism, Jewish Virtue Ethics explores thirty-five influential Jewish approaches to character and virtue.

Virtue ethics has been a burgeoning field of moral inquiry among academic philosophers in the postwar period. Although Jewish ethics has also flourished as an academic (and practical) field, attention to the role of virtue in Jewish thought has been underdeveloped. This volume seeks to illuminate its centrality not only for readers primarily interested in Jewish ethics but also for readers who take other approaches to virtue ethics, including within the Western virtue ethics tradition. The original essays written for this volume provide valuable sources for philosophical reflection.

“This is a fantastic book. Its contribution to the field of virtue ethics is significant because it provides a sweep of Judaic treatments of the topic, and its contribution to the field of Jewish ethics will be invaluable due to the relative dearth of material on virtue ethics thus far. It will be a cherished and, I hope, widely used resource.” — Jonathan K. Crane, coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality

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Research paper thumbnail of Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar (excerpt from ch. 1)

Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar (SUNY Press), 2015

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Research paper thumbnail of Moses and the Kid, Judah and the Calf, and the Disavowal of Compassion: Reading Rabbinic Stories with The Question of the Animal and Religion

The Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 2023

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Research paper thumbnail of Musar in a White Supremacist Society: Arrogance, Self-Examination, and Systemic Change

No Time for Neutrality: American Rabbinic Voices from an Era of Upheaval, 2021

This essay discusses the arrogance of white supremacy through the lens of the tradition of musar,... more This essay discusses the arrogance of white supremacy through the lens of the tradition of musar, the Jewish ethical tradition focused on cultivating virtues and resisting vices. I consider ways in which musar traditions might or might not be helpful in the work of challenging and dismantling unjust systems.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Modern Jewish Ethics Through Role-Play

Journal of Jewish Ethics, 2020

This article considers the use of role-playing pedagogy in an undergraduate Jewish Ethics course,... more This article considers the use of role-playing pedagogy in an undergraduate Jewish Ethics course, focusing on a course activity in which students represented diverse modern Jewish thinkers and debated how Jews should understand particular moral virtues. As an example, this article describes a class in which students represented seven modern Jews with diverse perspectives on altruistic love, kindness, and compassion and engaged in character with questions regarding gender, violence, and who is included in the commandment to love one’s fellow, among other issues. This article explores how such role-playing engaged students and challenged them to think critically about the views of others, the construction of virtue, the diversity of modern Jewish ethical traditions, and their own approaches to ethics.

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Research paper thumbnail of Musar and Jewish Veganism

Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and New Directions, 2019

This essay explores how wisdom gleaned from the Musar movement may inspire and enrich Jewish vega... more This essay explores how wisdom gleaned from the Musar movement may inspire and enrich Jewish vegan practices. It focuses on approaches to loving-kindness, compassion, empathy, and self-restraint found in the writings of some of the most prominent figures in the early generations of the Musar movement: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv of Kelm (1824-1898), Rabbi Natan Tzevi Finkel of Slobodka (1849-1927), and Rabbi Yeruham Ha-Levi Levovitz of Mir (1873?-1936).

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of "I Will Be with Them": God at the Burning Bush as an Ideal of Compassion for All Creatures

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, 2019

In this essay, I consider God as the ideal of compassion for all sentient beings. I ground this t... more In this essay, I consider God as the ideal of compassion for all sentient beings. I ground this theology in the narrative of Moses’s encounter with God at the burning bush, as described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus and in classical midrashic texts.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Two Orthodox Approaches to Vulnerability and the Exodus Narrative: The Stranger in the Writings of Irving Greenberg and Meir Kahane

Studies in Judaism, Humanities, and the Social Sciences, 2018

This article explores the depiction of the vulnerable “stranger” in the writings of two Orthodox ... more This article explores the depiction of the vulnerable “stranger” in the writings of two Orthodox rabbis, Irving Greenberg and Meir Kahane, in light of how they understand biblical discourse about the people of Israel’s experience as “strangers in the land of Egypt” and their liberation from slavery. Greenberg, developing his theologically liberal Orthodoxy, emphasizes universal human dignity and the Jewish obligation to provide refuge, support, and empowerment for oppressed others. Kahane, developing his supremacist and militant form of Orthodoxy, emphasizes how Jews are uniquely oppressed and vulnerable, as strangers, such that they need to be separated from non-Jews who threaten them by denying Jewish superiority. The article analyzes how these two thinkers proceed from common assumptions, develop their arguments with reference to the biblical Exodus narrative, and dispute what it means to be a vulnerable stranger.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of War, Musar, and the Construction of Humility in Modern Jewish Thought

Interreligious Studies and Interreligious Theology, 2018

This article considers how the musar (virtue-focused) tradition in Jewish ethics may shape Jewish... more This article considers how the musar (virtue-focused) tradition in Jewish ethics may shape Jewish moral judgments on questions of war and peace, focusing on various constructions of the virtue of humility in modern Jewish thought. It gives particular attention to concepts of humility advanced by Menachem Mendel Lefin, the leading figure of the Polish Haskalah, and it suggests that Lefin’s model of critical self-assessment, especially if carried out in partnership with those from different nations or traditions, could help to restrain the misplaced pride, enthusiasm, and impulses to dehumanize enemies that may emerge at times of war. The article brings Lefin’s approach into dialogue with three Jewish thinkers who argued that proper humility should in some cases encourage the use of violence and even the dehumanization of enemies: the Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv, the American Reform rabbi Kaufmann Kohler, and the militant Israeli Orthodox rabbi Meir Kahane.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Repairing Character Traits and Repairing the Jews: The Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin in the Nineteenth Century

Polin, 2018

This article explores some of the unique characteristics of the Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin,... more This article explores some of the unique characteristics of the Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin, the Musar movement educational institutions founded by Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv in the late 19th century. I consider these institutions' unique curricula, their efforts to influence Jewish education by exporting their model of musar study to other yeshivas, the ways that they were rejected by many Jews and especially by rabbinic authorities, and their efforts to separate themselves from many aspects of Jewish society while nevertheless hoping to effect social change. I argue that the Talmud Torahs had limited success in directly influencing Jewish society on the whole, but that they did have a significant influence on the development of traditional Jewish education in eastern Europe. The article appears in a special issue of Polin dedicated to Jewish Education in Eastern Europe, edited by Eliyana R. Adler and Antony Polonsky.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Angels, Humans, and the Struggle for Moral Excellence in the Writings of Meir Simhah of Dvinsk and Simhah Zissel of Kelm

Jewish Religious and Philosophical Ethics, ed. Curtis Hutt, Halla Kim, and Berel Dov Lerner, 2018

This paper contrasts the thought of two Lithuanian rabbis: Rabbi Meir Simhah of Dvinsk (1843-1926... more This paper contrasts the thought of two Lithuanian rabbis: Rabbi Meir Simhah of Dvinsk (1843-1926) and Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv of Kelm (1824-1898). The paper considers questions about the value of philosophical contemplation, how difficult moral transformation may be, whether acts of loving-kindness constitute the highest form of human spirituality, and how human beings may be compared with angels.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Constructing Interreligious Studies: Thinking Critically About Interfaith Studies and the Interfaith Movement

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Promise and Limits of R. Simhah Zissel Ziv’s Musar: A Response to Miller, Cooper, Pugh, and Peters

Journal of Jewish Ethics, 2017

This article is part of a roundtable discussion on Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv an... more This article is part of a roundtable discussion on Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar. Responding to Christian Miller, I consider the tensions found in Simḥah Zissel Ziv's view of the soul, how Simḥah Zissel sees human beings as inclining toward evil, and how he tends to recommend measures that are more demanding than those typically tested by psychological researchers. Responding to Andrea Dara Cooper, I pay particular attention to Cooper's question regarding the tension between Simḥah Zissel's expansive view of fellowship and his lack of support for his family, and focuses on the constructions of gender that produce this tension. Responding to Jeffrey Pugh, I explore the clear limits to Simḥah Zissel's tolerance for criticism, questions, and disobedience. Responding to Rebecca Todd Peters, I consider various ways in which Simḥah Zissel's legacy has been appropriated, and I give particular attention to ways that his thought has been used to support critical thinking about structural injustices and social change.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Kaddish, the Allegory of the Cave, and the Golden Calf: Meditations on Education and the Encounter with God

Kaddish, ed. David Birnbaum and Martin S. Cohen, 2016

Grounded in the idea that God is a moral ideal that invites our continual reflection and growth, ... more Grounded in the idea that God is a moral ideal that invites our continual reflection and growth, and drawing on the biblical narrative of the golden calf and the Platonic allegory of the cave, this essay considers how the words of the Kaddish may help Jews encounter God through the activity of study.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Legacy of the Kelm School of Musar on Questions of Work, Wealth and Poverty

Wealth and Poverty in Jewish Tradition, ed. Leonard J. Greenspoon, 2015

This paper explores how a variety of contemporary Jews have drawn on the ideas of the virtue-focu... more This paper explores how a variety of contemporary Jews have drawn on the ideas of the virtue-focused Kelm school of the Musar (Mussar) movement in formulating visions of how the Jewish tradition should best respond to poverty. The paper begins by exploring perspectives on wealth and poverty in the thought of the 19th century founder of the Musar movement, Rabbi Israel Salanter, and his primary disciple, Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv of Kelm. I then turn to three contemporary perspectives on wealth and poverty that build on the legacy of Simhah Zissel’s Kelm school in very different ways: ultra-Orthodox rabbis who praise voluntary poverty and disdain commerce; an American rabbi and business consultant who has harnessed the ideas and practices of the Musar movement in offering a path to personal prosperity; and the development organization American Jewish World Service’s use of models from Kelm in its human-rights-focused anti-poverty work in India.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Pinḥas, the Quest for Purity, and the Dangers of Tikkun Olam

Tikkun Olam: Judaism, Humanism & Transcendence, ed. David Birnbaum and Martin S. Cohen, 2015

This essay argues that programs for the “repair of the world” (tikkun olam) are often marked by a... more This essay argues that programs for the “repair of the world” (tikkun olam) are often marked by arrogance, overzealousness, and injustice. I consider the biblical interpretations of Meir Kahane and Yitzchak Ginsburgh and point to the need to acknowledge our human limitations as we develop our visions for tikkun olam. Part of what this essay suggests is that figures like Kahane and Ginsburgh participate in the musar tradition through their arguments about the nature and application of various virtues and vices. The improvement of the musar tradition, I think, requires guarding against the sorts of moral and intellectual errors that are exemplified in their teachings.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A Jewish Perspective on War, Scripture, and Moral Accounting

Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Introducing Jewish Studies Through Jewish Thought and Practice

Shofar, 2014

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Practice of Musar

Conservative Judaism, 2012

In this article, I make some suggestions about how the legacy of the nineteenth-century Mussar mo... more In this article, I make some suggestions about how the legacy of the nineteenth-century Mussar movement might best guide contemporary Jewish practice. I consider, in particular, the Mussar movement's vision of how a broad range of practices can spur moral development, and how this model might apply to contemporary Conservative Judaism.

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Research paper thumbnail of Jewish Virtue Ethics and Compassion for Animals: A Model from the Musar Movement

CrossCurrents, 2011

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Research paper thumbnail of Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv on Love and Empathy

Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv of Kelme, Lithuania was one of the early leaders of the Musar (Mussar) Mo... more Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv of Kelme, Lithuania was one of the early leaders of the Musar (Mussar) Movement, a pietistic religious movement in 19th century Europe that attempted to place concerns with moral character at the center of Jewish life. This article introduces Simhah Zissel’s virtue-centered approach to the Torah’s central commandment that one “love one’s fellow as oneself.” For Simhah Zissel, love is a disposition of the soul, with emotional and intellectual aspects, culminating in action; love demands a sense of partnership with others and a sense of care which should extend to all of God’s creatures. Love demands a sense of partnership with others and a sense of care that should extend to all of God's creatures; love requires that we not privilege ourselves over other people; and the highest level of love is “sharing the burden of one’s fellow,” compassionate love characterized by empathy and responsiveness, which can only be cultivated through great effort.

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Research paper thumbnail of The American Jewish Revival of Musar

The Hedgehog Review, 2010

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Research paper thumbnail of Musar

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