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By Alan Morinis Can I identify a single defining moment that captures what we experienced at this year’s annual Mussar Kallah, which took place late last month at the Valley of the Sun JCC in Scottsdale, Ariz., just outside Phoenix? No, it is not possible. Everyone who was there likely had their own moments of highlight, of course, but the truth is that those were not really the main event. As time has passed, and this community of spiritual seekers has grown, Mussar has taken more of a place in the contemporary Jewish world. In fact, the reality of this burgeoning community of people engaged with Mussar learning and practice was the biggest highlight for me. What I saw and experienced was an extraordinary group of people whose hearts are as large and as vital as are their minds, and who are alive to seeking with sincerity and diligence. The balanced integration of heart and mind is a central Mussar idea, and it came to life in Phoenix this year. It was there in the presentations, and there, too, in the conversations over meals. When Rebbetzin Rivy Kletenik spoke of her recent experience of engagement with a family whose 13-year-old son had died, everyone heard the lessons and felt their impact. No less moving were Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein leading intimate and scintillating sessions on Mussar, or Rabbi Avi Fertig conveying deep lessons in living spiritually in turbulent times. See who our teachers were. Rebbetzin Kletenik is an award-winning educator, head of a Jewish day school in Seattle. Rabbi Adlerstein is the Director of Interfaith Affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center as well as Adjunct Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics at Loyola Law School, and a teacher at Yeshiva University High Schools in Los Angeles. Rabbi Fertig, from Israel, teaches at Yeshivat Reishit and is the author of the recently released Mussar book, “Bridging the Gap.” Every year, our own students of Mussar do more and more of the teaching at the Kallah. This year, we were privileged to have sessions by Rabbi Micha Berger, Shirah Bell, Modya Silver, Rob Mass, Josh Gressel and Estee Solomon Gray. A group of three women physicians—Drs. Bev Spring, Cheri Forrester and Pauline Pariser—had been meeting to study and practice Mussar for several years, and at this year’s Kallah they led a workshop on the role they see and have experienced Mussar playing in the world of heath care, and in the lives of heath care providers such as themselves. I could sample only a small number of the sessions that were on offer in the rich and varied program at this year’s Kallah, but from what I heard from participants and in what I was able to observe, people were drawing important lessons for living from the Mussar tradition. No matter who was presenting or discussing an issue, Torah-based ideas and principles were being pressed into service to help people understand the lives they are living today, and to help them edge themselves closer to the ideals that the Mussar masters described for us so well. The success of this seventh running of the Mussar Kallah likely means that it will be the last in its present form. First, there was the Mussar Kallah, a single event for all attendees. Then we innovated by introducing two tracks: one for people being introduced to Mussar for the first time; another for more experienced Mussar students. Now we are looking at breaking the Kallah into two events—one for people coming to sample Mussar for the first time, and separately, an annual retreat for Mussar students. It’s a sign of the growing size and maturity of this community that we need to divide our gatherings into two more focused events. If you weren’t able to be with us in Phoenix this year (or even if you were), you’ll want to listen to some of the CDs of sessions that were recorded. We’ll be sending around a notice when these are ready. I hope to see you at one of the gatherings of the Mussar community in the year that lies ahead. |
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