Lugnasa New Harvest Moon
Yesterday in our Midday Mussar gathering we chose a book for study during the next year, The Path of the Just, “the Mesillat Yesharim an ethical (musar) text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746).” Amazon tagline for the book.
I was in favor of using this text because Mordecai Kaplan, an early 20th century rabbi who founded the Reconstructionist Movement in Judaism, translated it in 1936. Studying his translation of this key mussar volume will help me understand the Reconstructionists as well as the spiritual practice of mussar. A twofer.
Though I have little use anymore for God (and, yes, if he/she exists, he/she may not have use for me anymore), spirituality and the search for a good and compassionate life are still critically important to me.
This mussar class is, too, something Kate and I attend together. It’s good to have a spiritual discipline, an ethical path to discuss and practice. The class itself provides us with some exposure to more mountain folk, increasing the possibility that I will eventually find a friend or two up here.
