Many young bnei Torah seek a pathway and an approach to discovering a true connection with Torah and Hashem, yet they remain lost and confused. Many feel an emptiness or boredom in their davening, the purpose and value of learning can be confusing, and few have a clear vision of their purpose in life and mission in this world.

 Our world is shifting dramatically. Even before the coronavirus began its deadly trail, the speed of change had spun us all into a dizzy dance. We sought a vision of the future. Our own community, as much as it has flourished, has not been unaffected by the spirit that fills the air.

Our generation has a strange similarity to the one that fought the Haskalah. A new wind is blowing, pushing Torah values aside and leaving us confused. At the time of the Haskalah, Reb Yisroel Salanter rose to the challenge and focused on internal change through the Mussar movement. He captivated many great minds and sculpted a school of students that embodied his ways and refracted his light, each in his own way. Those students too innovated and engineered new ways of breaking through the barrier of negios and the overcoming the seductions of the Satan.

Over the years, their teachings slipped into obscurity and only the superficial aspects made their way into Mussar sedarim of the yeshivos. But even those remnants are dying embers of a forgotten art.

Yet the words of the Baalei Mussar still breathe the fire they always did; their lessons light up the same holy fire and their wisdom can still carve a path of clarity in a world shrouded in darkness. All we need is to humbly return to studying their ways and integrating their insights.

Kollel Eitz Pri (named after Reb Yisroel’s sefer) hopes to relight the fire of mussar.  Recognizing the changes that have transformed our world, we need a new language for today. The Kollel has a curriculum which builds all aspect of the avreich, from lomdus in Rishonim and Achronim to lomdus in life and love. We use the same penetrating analysis of a complex K’tzos to understand the subtle nuances of the middos.

Practically speaking, Kollel Eitz Pri runs from 3:30 – 7 pm Sunday through Thursday. The seder is divided into two distinct parts. The first hour is devoted to Binyan HaAdam. Each day has a unique focus: avodah workshops, translating mussar into the tumultuous times of 2020, speaker training, self-knowledge, guest speakers and learning the classic hashkafah texts.  The second part of the afternoon is all about kinyan haTorah in a real way. We seek to develop a passion and love of learning with crystal clarity that paves the way for educational excellence. By learning with comprehension and depth, we discover how to teach with coherence and power. Opening up sugyas of halachah and lomdus, we come to understand our own learning styles and strengths.

Another crucial aspect of the Baalei Mussar was zikuy harabbim, reaching out to the broader Jewish world and sharing with them the transformative power of Torah. This too is addressed in Kollel Eitz Pri. Part of the curriculum involves learning with secular Jews in order to show them the light of our lives, more through personal example than through direct teaching.

Kollel Eitz Pri will change the way you think, learn and relate to yourself, the world and the Borei Olam. Come and join.

The Kollel is under the leadership of Rav Peretz Segal and Rav Chaim Gross and is based in Yerushalayim. We are currently operating in a virtual zoom setting and we’re inviting interested Avreichim to join our sessions.

For more information please call R’ Menashe Uhr at 347-628-1923 (U.S.) or 058-528-1923 (Israel)

Click here to visit our website.