Elul 5785 - The Mussar Institute

Elul 5785

Step Into the New Year with Strength and Clarity

As the High Holy Days approach, The Mussar Institute invites you to a six-week immersive course for Chaverim (members) that prepares your soul for the new Jewish year.

Gadlut HaAdam, or Human Greatness, invites you to recognize and live from the divine spark within. Each week offers teachings from classical Mussar texts, plus practical tools to bring those insights into your everyday life, through practice, reflection, and live community engagement.

What’s Included

Six Weekly Teachings
Each week focuses on a different facet of human greatness drawn from classic Mussar texts.
Live Webinars (75 min. each)
Join our community on August 24, September 7, and September 28 at 2 PM ET for live sessions with Mussar faculty, including teachings, chant, centering practices, and shared reflection.
Downloadable Practices & Reflections
Tools to help integrate each week's middah into your daily life.

Register Now (Chaverim Only)!

Six weeks of Transformation

Week 1:

Elul as our time to remember we are created B’tzelem Elohim/”In the Image” of God and to awaken to our reality and potential

Essay by Rabbi David Ebstein

Webinar with Avi Fertig, Rabbi David Ebstein and special guest TMI members and volunteers offering their invocations, insights, reflections, and more. - August 24, at 2 pm ET

Rabbi David Ebstein

Rabbi David Ebstein

Read More About Rabbi David Ebstein

Rabbi David Ebstein, originally from Chicago, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1988 after earning his BA from Washington University. He served as a congregational rabbi in Virginia before making aliyah with his family in 1995. In Israel, he worked in Jewish education, Holocaust education at Yad Vashem, and as a long-distance rabbi for a Tucson, AZ community for 16 years.

Since 2008, David has focused on officiating life cycle events in Israel and is also a licensed tour guide. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Rena Magun, and they have four adult children and three grandsons.

Avi Fertig

Week 2:

Gadlut HaAdam: The Greatness of a Human Being

Essay by Rabbi Micha Berger

Rabbi Micha Berger

Rabbi Micha Berger

Week 3:

Gadlut vs. Katnut: Where Do We Rise; Where Do We Fall Short

Essay by Naomi Wittlin

Webinar with Eric Gurvis, Naomi Wittlin and special guest TMI members and volunteers offering their invocations, insights, reflections, and more - September 7 at 2 pm ET

Naomi Wittlin

Read More About Naomi Wittlin

Naomi Wittlin attributes her renewed interest in Jewish learning to studying Mussar with The Mussar Institute for almost ten years. She is a Manchim Program graduate, completed the Advanced Facilitator cohort with Julie Dean, and co-facilitates a va’ad in Houston, TX. She traveled to Israel four years ago with TMI. Naomi recently completed her Masters in Jewish Studies at Gratz College and is currently a rabbinical student at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York. She is a writer, mother, and mixed-media artist and incorporates themes of Jewish texts into her artwork. She has an amazing 15-year-old daughter and a supportive husband of 22 years. She is a dedicated student and facilitator of Mussar whose passion is watching people grow toward their spiritual potential and make lasting transformations in their lives. You can find her spiritual reflections, artwork, and monthly book reviews at poeticaperture.com.

Eric Gurvis

Week 4:

Moving From Katnut (Smallness) towards Gadlut (Greatness) - Tools for Gadlut: Chesed and Kavod - Loving and Honoring Others

Essay by Rabbi Arnold and Sarah Gluck

Sarah Gluck

Read More About Sara Gluck

Sara Gluck is a lifelong Jewish educator with a deep passion for Judaism, Hebrew, and spiritual growth. She served as Director of Education at Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, NJ for 25 years and taught Hebrew for over 40 years. She also contributed to widely used Hebrew and Jewish Studies textbooks for Reform schools across North America.

Sara holds degrees from Oberlin College and Columbia University and studied at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She’s trained with Ayeka and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and began her Mussar journey in 2016 through The Mussar Institute, where she remains an active learner.

She enjoys music, yoga, nature, travel, and reading. Sara and her husband, Rabbi Arnie Gluck, share a rich personal and professional life. They have two daughters and one beloved granddaughter.

Rabbi Arnold Gluck

Rabbi Arnold Gluck

Read More About Arnold Gluck

Rabbi Arnold S. Gluck is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, NJ, where he served as Senior Rabbi from 1991 to 2024. A visionary leader, he helped launch programs in adult learning, Hebrew education, interfaith dialogue, Jewish healing, and social action.

He co-founded multiple community initiatives, including the Interfaith Hospitality Network, Jewish LIFE, and the Ohr Tikvah Jewish Healing Center. Nationally, he has held key leadership roles in the Reform Movement, including on the CCAR Responsa Committee and the URJ/CCAR Joint Commission on Outreach.

Ordained in 1983 by HUC-JIR, Rabbi Gluck also served in Israel as rabbi of Ohel Avraham and Director at the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa. He has been active in Reform Zionist leadership and currently serves as President of the Friends of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism.

He is married to Sara Gluck and is the proud father of two daughters and one granddaughter.

Week 5:

Rosh Hashanah - "Standing Before the Creator– Awe and Intimacy"

Essay by Helaine Sheias

Webinar with Rabbi Arnold and Sarah Gluck, Eric Gurvis and Helaine Sheias and special guest TMI members and volunteers offering their invocations, insights, reflections, and more - September 28 at 2 pm ET

Sarah Gluck

Read More About Sara Gluck

Sara Gluck is a lifelong Jewish educator with a deep passion for Judaism, Hebrew, and spiritual growth. She served as Director of Education at Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, NJ for 25 years and taught Hebrew for over 40 years. She also contributed to widely used Hebrew and Jewish Studies textbooks for Reform schools across North America.

Sara holds degrees from Oberlin College and Columbia University and studied at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She’s trained with Ayeka and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and began her Mussar journey in 2016 through The Mussar Institute, where she remains an active learner.

She enjoys music, yoga, nature, travel, and reading. Sara and her husband, Rabbi Arnie Gluck, share a rich personal and professional life. They have two daughters and one beloved granddaughter.

Rabbi Arnold Gluck

Rabbi Arnold Gluck

Read More About Arnold Gluck

Rabbi Arnold S. Gluck is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, NJ, where he served as Senior Rabbi from 1991 to 2024. A visionary leader, he helped launch programs in adult learning, Hebrew education, interfaith dialogue, Jewish healing, and social action.

He co-founded multiple community initiatives, including the Interfaith Hospitality Network, Jewish LIFE, and the Ohr Tikvah Jewish Healing Center. Nationally, he has held key leadership roles in the Reform Movement, including on the CCAR Responsa Committee and the URJ/CCAR Joint Commission on Outreach.

Ordained in 1983 by HUC-JIR, Rabbi Gluck also served in Israel as rabbi of Ohel Avraham and Director at the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa. He has been active in Reform Zionist leadership and currently serves as President of the Friends of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism.

He is married to Sara Gluck and is the proud father of two daughters and one granddaughter.

Eric Gurvis

Helaine Sheias

Week 6:

Approaching Yom Kippur: Teshuvah and Renewal - Becoming More Yourself

Essay by Rabbi Eric Gurvis

Eric Gurvis

For Chaverim Only

This course is available exclusively to members. If you’ve been considering joining our Chaverim community, this is the perfect time. The Elul program is one of our most beloved experiences, deep, meaningful, and shared with fellow seekers.

Become a Chaverim member now

Tiered Pricing

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, this course is available at accessible rates:

Tier 1: $72
Tier 2: $54
Tier 3: $36

Ready to Begin? Chaverim, Register Now!

A Gift for You!

All participants receive the Elul Reflection Journey 5785, a downloadable guide by Sandy Greenstein that includes a daily Mussar kabbalah for each day of Elul. The gift is included with your registration.

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