09 Jan LEARNING MUSSAR

For thousands
of years people
have engaged
in inappropriate
behaviors. Our evil
inclination was given
to us when we were
born. However, in years
past if one sinned or
committed a misdeed,
it did not cause him
to go off the path, disgrace Hashem, violate
Shabbos, or intermarry. Today, things are
different and if one deviates from the path,
he ends up very far away. Therefore, there
is a more pressing need to prevent this from
happening, and mussar is the solution.
Learning Mussar
The Gemara in Maseches Kiddushinsays
that Hashem created an evil inclination and
created Torah as the antidote. The Birchei
Yosefsays the antidote referred to in the
Gemara is learning mussar. If one does not
learn mussar, he does not know that the
outside world is tough with many challenges
to overcome. If one does not know that he is
in the midst of a war, he won’t know how to
fight the battle.
The Mishnah Berurah comments that one
should make sure to set aside time each day
to learn mussar.This is also brought down in
many poskim.
The Kaf Hachaim mentions that one should
learn mussar thirty minutes each day before
learning halachah. The Steipler Gaon zt”l
would learn mussar for fifteen minutes every
day.
Some say that learning mussar is more
important than learning Mishnayos. When
one advances in his Torah learning, his yetzer
hara grows as well. One must keep the yetzer
hara in check by learning mussar.
Sadly, we see many people who spend a lot
of time learning Torah, but they lack fear of
Hashem. The way to counteract this is by
learning mussar. Without learning mussar
and fixing their ways, their Torah is not true
Torah.
Before beginning a shiur, the Chasam Sofer
zt”l would learn fifteen minutes of Chovos
Halevavos with his students.
The ladder by which one can reach Hashem
with a clean soul is the learning of mussar. If
one does not learn mussar, he will not know
if his actions are correct. He may continue to
steal, cheat, lie, be haughty, quick to anger,
and possess other negative character traits.
However, if one learns mussar then slowly it
will penetrate his heart and he will become a
better person.
The Mishnah says that if one has fear of
Hashem his wisdom will endure; if he does
not have fear of Hashem his wisdom will not
endure.

All Beginnings Are Tough
Although the beginning of one’s efforts to
learn mussar may be difficult, one should not
despair and give up. One should also not be
concerned that learning mussar will cause
him to become too extreme. The Torah will
straighten him out and teach him how to
relate to himself and others.
The Vilna Gaon on the Importance of
Learning Mussar
The Vilna Gaon zt”l devoted part of his sefer
Even Sheleimah[19] to discuss the importance
of breaking one’s bad habits. The Vilna Gaon,
in fact, learned mussar many times a day.
One’s entire servitude to Hashem depends on
fixing one’s middos. All sins come from bad
middos.
The main focus of one’s existence on this
world is to fix his bad traits — if he doesn’t
do so, why is he alive?
The Chafetz Chaim’s Opinion
The Chafetz Chaim zt”l commented that if
a yeshivah does not have a mussar seder, it
cannot be called a yeshivah. He further said
that one must make sure to learn mussar.
Only through learning mussar will he be
able to make sure that he doesn’t slip in his
avodas Hashem. This can be understood with
a mashal: If there is a strong wind and one is
walking in the street, if he does not hold on to
his garments they can fly away and he will be
left naked. So too, if a person learns Torah but
does not learn mussar, the winds of society
around him will blow him away. Therefore, it
is important for every yeshivah to make sure
it has a seder in mussar. The Chafetz Chaim
also said that he spoke to other gedolim who
may not have been on board with the concept
of learning mussar when the idea was first
introduced, but they all agreed that times have
changed and it is imperative that mussar be
learned.
Which Mussar Sefer?
There are many excellent sefarim on mussar.
Gedolei Yisrael have learned many of the
sifrei mussar, such as Reishis Chachmah,
Shevet Mussar, Chovos Halevavos, Sha’arei
Teshuvah, Orchos Tzaddikim, and Mesillas
Yesharim, to name a few. Many of these
sefarim have been translated into English.
One should pick a sefer that “talks” to
him and to which he can relate.Each sefer
discusses a different topic. If one feels he
has to work on his middos, he should learn
Orchos Tzaddikim; if one wishes to learn
about teshuvah, he should learn Sha’arei
Teshuvah. One who is struggling with anger
should read Erech Apayim. If one has a hard
time with avoiding speaking lashon hara, he
should learn sefer Chafetz Chaim on shemiras
halashon.
The custom of many gedolim was to make
sure to have a set time to learn mussar. In

addition, the custom in most of the
great yeshivos in Lithuania was
to set aside time to learn mussar.
Obviously, care should be taken not
to spend too much of one’s time on
Gemara without setting aside any
time to learn mussar.
Women and Mussar
Just as a man should learn mussar,
so should a woman. The Steipler
Gaon zt”l suggested that girls
learn Sha’arei Teshuvah or Orchos
Tzaddikim. They may learn some
Pele Yoetz as well. He did not advise
girls to learn from the Chovos
Halevavos.
Goal of Mussar
The goal of learning mussar is to change a
person so that he will act differently in the
future, and not merely to learn a nice vort. In
addition, the point of learning mussar is that
one should realize his life has a goal and is not
a free-for-all, like the outside world thinks.
In Place of Learning
Chayei Adamsays that one should learn
sefarim that discuss the fear of Hashem
even if this will cause one to learn less
Torah. Someone once asked Harav Yisrael
Salanter zt”l a question: If a person only has
half an hour a day to learn, should he learn
Mishnayos, Gemara, or mussar?
“Learn mussar,” Rav Yisrael responded, “and
you will see that you will have more time in
the day to learn.”
One who learns about the fear of Hashem,
love of Hashem, and good deeds fulfills the
mitzvah of learning Torah.
Some people feel that learning depressed,
since it highlights a person’s flaws. However,
if one falls into a depression when he is
learning mussar, he is not learning mussar in
the proper manner.
The Chafetz Chaim said that if one is not
feeling well and does not wish to eat, he takes
medicine in order that he should feel better
and have an appetite. However, taking a lot of
medicine all day is not ideal. Similarly, a bit
of mussar should be learned every day.
Learning mussar will arouse one’s heart to
do the right thing. Without learning mussar,
one will not know how to refrain from bad
actions.
The difference between one who learns mussar
and one who does not is like the difference
between day and night. Once cannot fix his
middos without learning mussar, and he will
have no hope of fixing himself.
Mussar as a Prelude to Torah
When one leaves this world he is asked many
questions, such as whether he was honest in
business and whether he set aside time to

learn Torah. However, if one did not have fear
of Hashem nothing will help him. One thing
Hashem asks from us is to fear Him.
The Meiri says that if one does not have fear
of Hashem, it is better if he does not learn
Torah. Rashi writes that the Torah is a gate for
one to acquire fear of Hashem.
The Rambam opines that Torah is only found
by one who is humble, implying that one has
to work on himself before he can acquire
Torah.
The Orchos Tzaddikim mentions that having
fear of Hashem will strengthen all of a
person’s other middos.
Learning mussar is important since without
fear of Hashem, which one gains by learning
mussar, his Torah wisdom will not endure.
Controlling Desires
Much of our behavior that needs fixing stems
from desire. We daven every day in Elokai
Netzor (at the end of Shemoneh Esrei) that
our hearts be open to Torah, which helps
us avoid desiring other things. We have to
make sure to control our desires in any way
possible, since desire for the wrong thing can
lead to forbidden actions.
If one truly wishes to climb the ladder of yiras
Shamayim, he must learn mussar.
How to Learn Mussar
Learning mussar once in a while is not
sufficient, since one has to be inspired to
change. Learning once in a while will not
have an effect on a person.
Even when one finishes learning a specific
sefer, he should not hesitate to learn it over
and over again.
When Leaving Yeshivah
When in yeshivah, bachurim and avreichim
learn in depth and with energy, writing
chiddushei Torah and so on. When they leave
the yeshivah to enter the outside world, in
some cases one would never know they had
ever learned in a yeshivah — and the reason
for this is the lack of a mussar seder.
Learning Mussar on Shabbos
One is allowed to learn mussar on Shabbos
even if it will make him sad.