12 Facts About Musar literature

Musar literature is didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards character improvement.

Musar literature can be distinguished from other forms of Jewish ethical literature such as aggadic narrative and halakhic literature.

Medieval works of Musar literature were composed by a range of rabbis and others, including rationalist philosophers and adherents of Kabbalistic mysticism.

Joseph Dan has argued that medieval Musar literature reflects four different approaches: the philosophical approach; the standard rabbinic approaches; the approach of Chassidei Ashkenaz; and the Kabbalistic approach.

Rabbinic Musar literature came as a reaction to philosophical literature, and tried to show that the Torah and standard rabbinic literature taught about the nature of virtue and vice without recourse to Aristotelian or other philosophical concepts.

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Similar works were produced by rabbis who were Kabbalists but whose Musar literature writings did not bear a kabbalistic character: Nahmanides' Sha'ar ha-Gemul, which focuses on various categories of just and wicked people and their punishments in the world to come; and Rabbi Bahya ben Asher's Kad ha-Kemah.

Literature in the genre of Musar literature continued to be written by modern Jews from a variety of backgrounds.

Mesillat Yesharim is a Musar literature text published in Amsterdam by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in the 18th century.

Significant Musar literature writings were produced by leaders of the movement such as Rabbis Israel Salanter, Simcha Zissel Ziv, Yosef Yozel Horwitz, and Eliyahu Dessler.

Musar literature has been composed by Reform rabbis including Ruth Abusch-Magder, noted for her writing on humility, and Karyn Kedar, noted for her writing on forgiveness.

Musar literature has been composed by Conservative rabbis including Amy Eilberg and Danya Ruttenberg.

Musar literature has been composed by Reconstructionist rabbis including Susan Schnur, Sandra Lawson, Rebecca Alpert, and Mordecai Kaplan.