Shevat 25

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (1810-1883), founder of the Mussar (Jewish ethics) movement of spiritual growth. Rabbi Salanter's approach gained popularity in Lithuania, at a time when chassidic influences were growing. The idea of Mussar is to use meditations, guided imagery, and exercises to penetrate the subconscious. In this way an individual can break through the barriers that prevent the soul from expressing its purity. Mussar books such as Path of the Just give a road map to developing traits of humility, alacrity and purity. Rabbi Salanter encouraged people to set a time every day for the study of Mussar, an idea which remains popular until today.