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By Alan Morinis As we begin a new year, I wish you blessings and growth in the months ahead. On the same theme, I want to share with you a look at the blessings and growth that are to be found in the ways Mussar is being studied and practiced today. Have a look at what’s going on: MUSSAR KALLAH – The seventh annual exciting and inspiring gathering of Mussar students and teachers will occur in Phoenix Oct. 25, under the strong leadership of Rob Beller. (If you have not yet registered, be aware that space is limited so I urge you to register now.) I visited Tucson and Phoenix and spoke in 10 synagogues to build local interest in the Kallah. This year, under the guidance and with the support and inspiration of Robert Barris, the Kallah will be graced with a sponsored journal, which will contain articles and also serve as a fundraiser. Robert has made good progress with this innovation in our programming, and we have reason to hope that it will become an annual feature of the Kallah (and our revenue). In early September, Rob Beller and I joined in on a conference call with the JCC and a local synagogue in Atlanta, where Steve Chervin is well underway with preparations for the 2010 Kallah. We are getting organized well in advance, way ahead of any previous year. And even further out, as the Kallah comes to Denver in 2011, under the supervision of Lynn Cooper locally. WEBINARS – In September, we hosted our second series of on-line video courses with Rabbi Feldman, a two-part free series in preparation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We offered 50 places and they were taken up in four hours. Rabbi Feldman agreed to do a second session, and those 50 places went in about one day. Participants were from Canada, the U.S., England, Israel, New Zealand and Brazil. SEASON OF MUSSAR – This 13-week program runs in a local community, most often in a synagogue. We have groups in New York, Dallas (2), Seattle, Atlanta, New Hope and Levittown, Pa., Thousand Oaks (2), Hollywood and Palo Alto, Calif., Ann Arbor, Mich., (3), Ocean City, Md., Fredericksburg and Charlottesville, Va., and Baton Rouge, La., as well as Calgary, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan and Sao Paolo, Brazil. Groups will soon start in Westchester County, N.Y., Princeton, N.J., and other locations, and just finished in Detroit and New Hope, Pa. This represents a huge jump in numbers. But it is not all about numbers. Here is something interesting I received from one of the group leaders: “I have noticed a significant increase in attendance at Shabbat services from the participants (and their families).” This is anecdotal evidence of what I believe to be true, which is that the encounter with Mussar can affect a person in a deep way, in their soul, and also in a broad way, throughout his or her life. A Season of Mussar II is undergoing a review by a team led by Roann Altman. Roann has surveyed the group leaders who have led this course, and will recommend changes, including to some course materials. PATH OF THE SOUL – Last month, our first locally-based Path of the Soul group began in Seattle, and it appears another will start soon. Modya Silver and I, as co-directors, will start our annual distance-learning version of this program in November, at the same time as a new session of the more advanced MUSSAR IN ACTION course will begin. CHABURAH – Two very senior study groups are working their way through this year-long curriculum. MIDDAH A MONTH – Nina Yarus has made great progress developing this new program that will provide inspiring and supportive materials to people who want to keep connected to Mussar learning and practice after completing a course of study. We are on track to launch this program in January. Rabbi David Jaffe has been working hard at surveying the group leaders to determine what sorts of support and on-going learning and training they feel they need, as a foundational step toward designing a support program. The survey has been circulated and we have had many responses. EVERYDAY HOLINESS – Shirah Bell and I are working with about five new students every month in this introductory distance program, and overall, we are approaching the 200-student mark. COLLEGE – I have been helping Debbie Steinberg and her son, Daniel Shimansky, create materials for a peer-led student Mussar group at Brandeis University. We are investing time and effort in creating these materials in the hope and expectation that peer-leaders at other colleges will want to a similar program. Here is Daniel’s report on the first meeting, which happened in early September: “We had our first meeting yesterday! I think it went really well. We had about 24 people who attended, and I sensed that the students really enjoyed it. The material was thought-provoking, and many people offered some interesting comments. The Chevruta time worked particularly well, given how large the group was. We sat on the grass outside the Beit Midrash, in a shady area, in a large circle Shabbat afternoon. It was really nice.” PRISONERS – We continue to receive requests to match Jewish prisoners to Mussar partners, and I make the matches. So far this has been a reactive program (meaning we respond to requests from prisoners), but Debra Cohn, with support from other volunteers, is taking steps to make this into a proactive program, (i.e., reaching out to prisoners to let them know that materials and a program are available to them). We plan to design a program, with materials, and then publicize it (likely through the association of Jewish prison chaplains), and then fulfill the response, both from chaplains and prisoners. It's a substantial amount of work to do it right, but if you read the article in the last Yashar written by someone who is a chevruta to a prisoner, you will know how meaningful and valuable this program is to neshamas that are so in need of guidance. That’s the current picture in outline. I am sure you will agree that this is a substantial amount of activity, especially considering that we have very almost no staff support, a situation that needs to change, and change quickly, not only to support these activities, but to respond to other opportunities and dreams as well. Please consider how you might join in partnership to help us solve the “problem” of all these blessings. Please email info@mussarinstitute.org to begin a conversation on how you can join. |
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