Musar-Ethics has a promise that goes with it from Isaac Blazzer (the disciple of Reb Israel Salanter) of being a cure for all bodily, and mental, and spiritual diseases.

, The way I  decided on what to say when I get up in the morning took time and thought to develop. It is a long and involved story. At the Mir in NY my interest was kindled in Musar (Ethics) one Rosh Hashanah. Then I lost interest. And then recently I asked a fellow  from Bnei Brak to bring some books of straight, normal Musar. The first one was I think the Obligations of the Heart. After that I asked for a book of Musar that is well known in yeshivas called Even Sh'lema and the Nefesh HaChaim  by the disciple of the Gra, Reb Chaim from Voloshin and another well know Musar book called Madrgat HaAdam [by Joseph Yozel Horwitz, a disciple of Reb Israel Salanter].

Then while reading these books I noticed at certain time areas of character development that I seemed to be lacking.

Then I wrote down one long paragraph and I would say it to my self right away when I got up in the morning. I forget which one it was but it might be the same one that I still say to myself when I get up: "When a person gets up in the morning and accepts upon himself that day to be mekababel [accept on himself] the yoke of Torah in truth –that is he decides in his heart that he will listen to no one and nothing will prevent him then on that day he will have success in Torah. And according to the deep of his commitment and strength of his conviction to that degree from Heaven he will receive help and he distractions and obstacles will be taken away from him."

After that I decided I needed help to judge people on the scales of merit and thus started saying to myself: "It is a known tested fact that when one has enemies –G-d forbid,- and he judges them on the scale of merit, that is, he decides in his heart that they are true and perfect saints, then immediately their heart will be turned to be his friends." {From Reb Chaim from Voloshin the disciple of the Gra}

A long time after that it occurred to me that I had ceased trusting in God at all and that this had been an important factor in my upward development. So I decided to start saying over a paragraph about trust in God that I had seen in the book the Madragat HaAdam during the middle of the day. But then at some point I started  saying it also in the morning.


The whole paragraph is this: “Trust in God with all your heart and do not depend on your intellect.” (Mishlei Proverbs 3)  That is your heart should be perfect and whole in trust in God and not with just part of your heart and do not depend on your intellect that is You should not say I will trust in God but I am also obligated  to do actions and to depend on my intellect. There it says do not depend even as a staff or support you should not depend on your intellect.

Someone heard in the name of the Gra that this is the explanation of what it says in Rosh HaShanah 25B

The students at the Beit Midrash did not understand the word Yehavka יהבך in psalms [Cast on God your yehavka and he will take care of your burden יהבך]. Then one day they heard a gentile merchant tell Raba Bar Bar Chana “Take your Yehavka (burden) and put it on my camel.”  The Gra said it does not mean the students did not understand the word. Rather it means they thought one should trust in Go an also do effort. Therefore they had a question on that verse. It should say your needs. Then they saw the merchant tell Raba Bar Bar Chana to take his burden and out it on his camel and then they understood that when something is supposed to come to one from Heaven then it will come no matter what and one does not need to do any effort to get it.



Musar Ethics has a promise that goes with it from Isaac Blazzer the disciple of Israel Salanter of being a cure for all bodily and mental and spiritual diseases.

While in my present situation I can't learn Musar [no books available] , I hope at least to encourage others to do so. While the best kind of approach is the Litvak Musar Yeshiva , still if that is not possible at least at home.