3 minute read
Hebrew High Draws on Mussar Wisdom to Learn
April 2024
By: Betsy Olinger
Twelve hours after their school day starts, eighty teens show up as they do every Wednesday evening. Some carpool, others accrue driving hours chauffeuring white-knuckled parents, and some drive themselves. As the greeter on the first night of spring session, I asked each student one question, “What does the word ‘Amen’ mean to you?’”
Our Hebrew High students come from Temple Beth El, Temple Israel, and surrounding congregations, and some are unaffiliated, representing both the unity and lack of uniformity of what it means to be actively Jewish in Charlotte. Their tired and orthodontia-affected faces smile sheepishly, and I get a variety of wise answers, including,“ Yep, me too, the end, send to G-d, all done, I promise, life, thank you, word, peace, commitment, facts, and ‘we done’.” As a teacher, mom, and professional who works with teens approaching college, their answers inspire me more than their grammar makes me cringe.
It’s inconvenient and downright challenging to show up in person and participate in these trying times. We’re all tired, yet the teens show up. After enthusiastically benching Birkat Hamazon following our delicious dinner brimming with comfort food, the teens go to their elective classes. My ten eighth and ninth graders represent seven different schools. Though some chose the class and others insisted they didn’t, we came together last night for the first time in our va’ad, a study group to support students studying the Jewish spiritual practice of Mussar.
With 1,100 years of Mussar wisdom to draw from, Hebrew High teens learn about and try tested techniques to understand and balance their inner qualities. Moving beyond the commandments, Mussar practice gives students a continuum to examine Jewish values beyond dos and don’ts. This inner awareness supports them as they manage the real-life stressful situations they encounter with friends, school, family dynamics, and social unrest. With the goal of creating a deeper connection to Judaism, The Mussar Institute (TMI) created “Challenges and Choices” to help teens find meaning and purpose by navigating life choices in healthy ways that reflect Jewish values, middot. Using practical Jewish wisdom, facilitated discussions, and a focus on social, emotional, and spiritual learning, the program also addresses the mental health stressors brought on by life’s challenges facing today’s teens.
Each week explores a different and unique middah, or character trait, and introduces the teens to holistic skills offered by the Mussar masters. Students experience centering activities, multiple ways to understand and process each middah, and practices to bring the middah to life, culminating in a personal practice to “seal in” the learning. Challenges and Choices offers practical ways for teens to become their “best selves” through the spiritual practice of Mussar.
The middot our program focuses on are:
- humility/anavah
- honor/kavod
- envy/kinah
- responsibility/achrayut
- trust/bitachon
- gratitude/hakarat ha’tov
- patience/savlanut
- lovingkindness/chesed
- enthusiasm/zeirzut
- peace-of-mind/menuchat ha’nefesh
- silence/sh’tikah
Offered for the third time this spring, 8th-12th grade Hebrew High students absorb Jewish wisdom, debate, and knowledge as they launch into adulthood, actively bringing their Mussar practice to colleges and professional life. I’m comforted and excited by how these teens are present and proud to represent Jewish values. Amen.
