Mussar for This Moment

Tuesdays, May 13, 20, 27 and June 10, 2025

12-1:30 p.m. EDT

$180

 

The first two questions the Torah asks are, “Where are you?” and a few chapters later, “Where is your brother?” As if one can’t answer the first question without also answering the second question; as if they are in fact the same question. Mussar is the tradition within Judaism that asks, how did these two questions become separated?

In periods of uncertainty, Mussar can be a practice that helps us see more clearly and not merge with our sense of despair. Join Rabbi Joshua Boettiger for a four session immersion where we will explore this ancient lineage tradition – studying middot (precepts) and practices from the Mussar masters. In each session, we will also read and compose poetry related to Mussar themes – poetry of proximity, relationality, perplexity, responsibility. No previous experience of Mussar or poetry is required–this immersion is inclusive of everyone’s background and lived experiences.

 

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.

 

Rabbi Joshua Boettiger is Jewish Chaplain and Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He is the current Rosh Yeshiva for the Center for Contemporary Mussar and for the last decade, directed the Mussar program at Temple Emek Shalom in Ashland, Oregon. Joshua also teaches Jewish Meditation and co-leads silent retreats. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Pacific University and his poetry has appeared in the Missouri Review, the Southern Review, B O D Y, and elsewhere.

 

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