Our unique program is taught in a va’ad (small-group) format. Participants combine text study of classic Mussar texts with transformational practices to guide students through experiences of how middot (character traits) impact their lives and the lives of the people around them.
Along with our ongoing va’ads, CCM offers programs specifically designed for Jewish clergy and educators, as well as training for Madrichim (teacher/facilitators). We also offer weekly Mussar meditation sessions, Torah Study, and a variety of specialized classes throughout the year in Mussar texts, theology, and daily practice to students across the world.
Explore this ancient and innovative way to invoke your highest self in service, invigorate your relationships, and repair the world.
What is the story behind Center for Contemporary Mussar?
Mussar—the Jewish spiritual practice of character refinement—flourished for three centuries in yeshivot all over Europe until the Shoah devastated centers of teaching traditional Mussar practice. What little did survive did not immediately find fertile ground among liberal streams of American Judaism.
CCM Founder Rabbi Ira Stone discovered traditional teachings during his rabbinic training, recognized its value for modern Jews and has made it his life’s work to revive Mussar for present and future generations.
Along with Dr. Beulah Trey, Mindy Shapiro, Jim Culbertson, and Miki Young z"l; Rabbi Stone founded the Center for Contemporary Mussar (CCM) in 2017. CCM’s core curriculum combines spiritual practice with the study of Jewish text to guide students in the transformation of their relationships by awakening them to their profound responsibility for others. From one synagogue-based program in Philadelphia, CCM has since evolved and grown so that one can find our in-person or online courses and group-work being offered by Madrichim from coast to coast and many locations in between.