Sharing the burden : Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv and the path of Musar / Geoffrey D. Claussen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Claussen, Geoffrey D., 1979- author.

Series:

SUNY series in contemporary Jewish thought.

SUNY series in Contemporary Jewish Thought

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rabbis--Lithuania--Philosophy.

Rabbis.

Ethicists--Lithuania--Philosophy.

Ethicists.

Jewish ethics.

Musar movement--History.

Musar movement.

Broida, Simḥah Zissel ben Israel, 1824-1898--Philosophy.

Broida, Simḥah Zissel ben Israel.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (261 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany, New York : SUNY Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Sharing the Burden analyzes the rich moral traditions of the nineteenth-century Musar movement, an Eastern European Jewish movement focused on the development of moral character. Geoffrey D. Claussen focuses on that movement's leading moral theorist, Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv (1824–1898), the founder of the first Musar movement yeshiva and the first traditionalist institution in Eastern Europe that included general studies in its curriculum. Simḥah Zissel offered a unique and compelling voice within the Musar movement, joining traditionalism with a program for contemplative practice and an interest in non-Jewish philosophy. His thought was also distinguished by its demanding moral vision, oriented around an ideal of compassionately loving one's fellow as oneself and an acknowledgment of the difficulties of moral change. Drawing on Simḥah Zissel's writings and bringing his approach into dialogue with other models of ethics, Claussen explores Simḥah Zissel's Jewish virtue ethics and evaluates its strengths and weaknesses. The result is a volume that will expose readers to a fascinating and important voice in the history of modern Jewish ethics and spirituality.

Contents:

Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; The Musar Movement; Rabbi Simh. ah Zissel Ziv; Chapter 1 Rabbi Simh. ah Zissel Ziv and the Talmud Torah; The History of the Talmud Torah; Talmud Study and Musar Study; The Talmud Torah as a Total Institution; Models of Authority; Simh. ah Zissel and the Haskalah; The Closing of the Talmud Torah of Grobin and the Return to Kelm; Chapter 2 Virtue and the Path of Happiness; Wisdom and Musar; Wisdom about Human Lowliness; Wisdom about the Human Form; The Limits of Wisdom; What Is a Virtue?; Choosing Virtue; The Repair of the Soul; Practical Wisdom

Putting Virtue into ActionHappiness and Virtue; The World to Come; The Motivations for Virtue; Chapter 3 Simh. ah Zissel Among the Philosophers; "Mocking" the Philosophers; The Philosophers as Musar Masters; Reborn Like a Philosopher; The "Clear View of What Is Good"; The Rationality of the Torah; Rational Prophets and Rational Rabbis; "Reason Which Is Beyond Human Capacity"; Simh.ah Zissel Among the Kabbalists; Miracles and Nature; Chapter 4 The Great Effort of Musar; The Pursuit of the Ideal; Human Exemplars; The Divine Exemplar; Striving Toward the Infinite; The Struggle for Moral Progress

The Problem of Stiff NecksTroubles Within the Soul; Torah "On One Foot": The Problem of Balance; "No Remedy . . . Other than to Exert Oneself Very Greatly"; The Slow Pace of Change; Chapter 5 Learning to Love; Love as a Virtue; Love as Partnership; The Reach of Love; Loving One's Fellow and Loving Oneself; Moses and the Burden of His Fellows; Love and the Practice of Musar; Love and Worldly Occupations; Love Through Commerce; Love Through Politics; Love and the Family; Practical Wisdom Revisited; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; General Index

Index of References to Biblical and Talmudic sources

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781438458366

1438458363

OCLC:

921302201