The Musar movement, founded by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, proposes a way of serving God that emphasizes the shaping of a person’s character. It is a practical approach that spiritually prepares the individual to serve God.

Over time, the movement split into different schools of thought that emphasized particular foci: stringency and self-discipline (Kelm), the greatness and honor of humankind (Slabodka), emotional experience and spiritual refinement (Mir), and avoiding self-deception (Novardok). The goal of all of these approaches is to be motivated by the fear of Heaven. They all emphasize caution with regard to the evil inclination, which tries to lead people astray. They teach that one must seek to understand his own character thoroughly and learn how to guide it. In practice, a follower of the Musar movement would periodically listen to Musar discourses to rouse his soul so that he would not sink into routine and neglect his moral obligations.

The Musar movement captured the hearts of many Lithuanian Jews because it constituted a clear stance against the Enlightenment, and because, like the discipline of psychology, which developed at the same time, it examines the mind of the individual with a critical and sensitive eye.

Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (1810–1883) established the Musar movement. Born in Zagare, Lithuania, he disseminated his ideas in Lithuanian cities such as Vilna and Kaunas, as well as in western Europe. Later in life he served as the rabbi of Konigsberg, Prussia, which is where he died. While he did not write any books, his students collected some of his letters and summarized some of his sermons in the book Or Yisrael. He spread his approach by establishing Musar study groups as well as small study halls where Musar was learned. Likewise, he spoke publicly about the importance of Musar. Later, he published the journal Tevuna. The essence of his approach is that the internalization of Musar ideals strengthens one’s service of God. In addition, one must work to subdue the evil inclination. It is important to know that there are times when the evil inclination obscures a person’s understanding. Therefore, one should be aware of his own nature, including his strengths and weaknesses. One must not deny or repress dark urges; rather, one must confront them with the belief that he can overcome them.

From Rabbi Yisrael Salanter:

In order to achieve fear [of God], one must study the books of Musar with enthusiasm, with a true heart, a sorrowful voice, and with lips aflame. The ideas must be expanded upon with clear imagery, because the imagination is invaluable to Musar. It awakens the soul with regard to the feelings of the limbs. It can draw imagery from matters that are known concerning the suffering of the body and soul. We see the power of the imagination with regard to the power of musical instruments and song, which transport the soul to joy or to sorrow.

Rabbi Simĥa Zissel Ziv (1827–1898) was one of the founders of the Musar movement. He was born in Kelm, Lithuania, and traveled to towns in Lithuania, Germany, and Russia to spread his teachings. He died in Kelm.

He established a yeshiva called Talmud Torah, and after it closed, he gathered his foremost students and formed a group called Devek Tov, whose members dedicated themselves to the study of Musar and to one another. His book Ĥokhma UMusar is a collection of letters written to the members of the group.

The Alter of Kelm advocated self-discipline, order, and meticulousness with regard to every detail of life. He strictly oversaw the course of study that was undertaken in the yeshiva. He taught his students never to act without prior thought, and to always behave with integrity.

From Rabbi Simĥa Zissel Ziv:

Socrates, the philosopher, said that there are some who believe that one must know the answer to every question they are asked, for if they do not, they are not wise. [Socrates continues,] “But I do not say so; rather, all my wisdom is in knowing that I know nothing”…. This is why the Sages of the Talmud were called, “students of Sages [talmidei hakhamim, they were like students, who ]”…. All their lives are still studying.

Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch (1860–1929) was born in Lithuania and was the rabbi of the city of Telz, as well as the head of the Telz yeshiva. Rabbi Bloch established numerous educational institutions in Telz, including a preparatory school for the yeshiva, a training college for teachers, a rabbinical college, and a girls’ secondary school.

The classes he taught in the yeshiva are compiled in the work Shiurei Da’at, in which he presents his outlook on numerous topics of Jewish thought, e.g., miracles and the laws of nature, prayer, and others. This work earned him a reputation as the philosopher of the Musar movement. He dealt with strong opposition to the study of Musar from some of the yeshiva heads and students.

From Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch:

The stature of a great person is great. He begins here, below, and he continues to rise until he reaches the higher, loftier realms. But the stature of a lowly person is lowly. He begins here and ends here, and even his head does not reach above his lowly world.

Rabbi Elĥanan Wasserman (1874–1941) was born in Lithuania, was a close disciple of the Ĥafetz Ĥayyim, and was head of the Ohel Torah Yeshiva in Baranowicze. Some of his novellae on the Talmud were published in the book Kovetz Shiurim, and are still studied today. He was one of the leaders of Agudat Yisrael and opposed the Zionist movement because of the outspoken secularism of many of its leaders. When the Germans invaded Lithuania he was offered a chance to escape but chose to remain and continue to teach his students about the sanctification of God’s name. He was murdered in the Kovno Ghetto together with his students.

From Rabbi Elĥanan Wasserman:

After liberalism waned, people turned to democracy, socialism, communism, and the numerous other “isms” that have inundated our generation. Major sacrifices [korbanot shel damim], in both senses of this word [damim means both blood and money], were made to these objects of idol worship, i.e., both money and lives were sacrificed. But they all disappointed; none of these ideologies fulfilled the hopes that people hung on them.

Rabbi Yeruĥam Levovitz (1876–1936) was born in Lyuban, Belarus, and served as the mashgiah, the spiritual guide, of the Radin Yeshiva and the Mir Yeshiva. He was responsible for establishing the Musar approach of the Mir Yeshiva. His sermons were compiled in the books Da’at Torah and Da’at Ĥokhma UMusar. He emphasized the uniqueness of each individual, and was known for his sensitivity toward every one of his students, even during the times when there were several hundred young men learning in the yeshiva. He exhorted people to free themselves from the shackles of society, which conceal the individual’s personality and unique virtues. He would chastise the yeshiva students for their behavior in order to help each one fulfill his personal potential.

From Rabbi Yeruĥam Levovitz:

A farmer who heals a sick person places cold water upon his head. But a doctor heals in a different manner. When one’s head hurts, he gives him drops for his heart. Because the doctor understands where the illness is coming from, this is what he heals. It is astounding how our holy Sages understood spiritual illness, and the prescriptions [i.e., spiritual advice] they gave to combat it.

Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892–1953), a descendant of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, was born in Homel, Belarus. He served as a rabbi in Gateshead, England, and later moved to the Land of Israel, where he served as the mashgiah of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. His writings were collected in the work Mikhtav MeEliyahu, which deals with various topics in Jewish thought such as free will, the place of God in this world, and gratitude. His thinking was influenced by Hasidism and Kabbala.

From Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler:

Every individual has free will at the point where his understanding of truth meets the apparent truth, which stems from falsehood. However, most of a person’s actions occur in a place where truth and falsehood do not come into contact with one another. For there are many things on the side of truth that an individual has been educated to do, and it would never enter his mind to do the opposite. Likewise, there are many things that one does on the side of evil and falsehood, and he does not perceive that it is not fitting to do them.

Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe (1914–2005) was born in Berlin, studied at the Mir Yeshiva, taught in Stockholm, Sweden, and helped the Jews of Stockholm to establish educational institutions after the Holocaust. He moved to the Land of Israel and was appointed as the mashgiah of the Be’er Yaakov Yeshiva. Subsequently, he settled in Jerusalem.

His book Alei Shur deals with the guidance and education of yeshiva students, and also discusses Torah study and mitzva observance. The book was published anonymously and is written in an unusual style, perhaps related to the fact that the author became religious at a young age. It emphasizes individual growth. Later in life, Rabbi Wolbe did not hold an official position, but gave talks in numerous places and was the address for questions on educational matters.

From Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe:

He is like an entire world; this is the one-of-a-kind nature of the human being. There was never another like him, and there will never be another like him until the end of days. [Every individual must know:] I, with my unique combination of strengths, the child of these particular parents, born at that time and in that place, certainly have a special task and a special portion of the Torah. All of creation is waiting for me to fix that which I must fix. For I cannot exchange tasks with any other person in the world.