Customer Reviews

Climbing Jacob's Ladder: One Man's Rediscovery of a Jewish Spiritual Tradition

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It's not often that one comes across a nonfiction book as smooth reading as "Climbing Jacob's Ladder." Alan Morinis has produced what might be called a spiritual autobiography, with a specific purpose, explained in the title as, "One Man's Discovery of a Jewish Spiritual Tradition." Underlying all is a searing honesty that is positively inspiring.
The tradition in question is Mussar, which has its roots in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. This so decimated Mussar practitioners that Mussar did not gain prominence in the study of Judaism as a whole. So, for Alan Morinis, after much research, it was a "find". His description of it is so impelling that it is hard to put aside. As an autobiography, the character of the author as a secular Jew comes through very clearly in all its ramifications during his journey towards spiritual fulfilment.
Also central to the book's treatment of Mussar is the character of the person who ultimately became Morinis' teacher. Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, living in New York to where the author travelled several times from Vancouver for study. Rabbi Perr, though orthodox himself teaches without imposing orthodoxy on the learner as the writer might have expected, since he found the subject grounded in orthodoxy.
However, Mussar is not only for studying, but for practising: its basic principles emanating from the soul of every practitioner, different as they are from every other practitioner.
I found the book positively exciting because of the honesty of expression about the author's feelings at every stage of the journey. The writing is imbued with a very human quality that draws the reader into the author's soul, which is the whole point of the exercise of Mussar: to develop the soul toward spiritual perfection as far as possible.
We are all different from each other with regard to the elements of our characters. Mussar calls these elements, "soul-traits". "We don't have a soul. We are a soul". Through the discipline of Mussar we are helped to improve these various soul-traits: for example, by working on our anger, impatience, etc. until we become more holy. Rabbi Perr side-steps a definition of holiness, saying that, "you'll know about holiness just from the experience."
There's a lot more to the book than can be described here, such as what the Mussar exercises consist of. Suffice it to say that the end result of the book is a beautiful document, the essence of it being the "soul-perspective", leading to the possibility of all who read it to face life with equanimity.
A. Naomi Katz

Picking up this book, I was afraid that it would be the standard fair of criticizing traditional Judaism and replacing it with a sophmoric system. However, as the back cover contained glowing praise from both Rabbi Jonathan Saks, Chief Rabbi of England, and Rabbi Abraham Twerski, the best English language author on traditional Judaism, I immediately purchased the book.

The author who is an admitted neophyte on the book's subject, writes skillfully, respectfully and passionately. I easily absorbed the book in a single reading, feeling refreshed and inspired the whole way through. The book never becomes preachy or emotional but maintains a discipline of even handedness which is the hallmark of mussar, the book's sunject.

The book is a journey taken in middle age by Alan Morinis, a professor and movie producer whose life hits a roadblock. Searching for a way to move forward, he stumbles across some texts relating to the mussar movement, a small but highly influential school of thought within Orthodox Judaism. Mussar, which thrived in Eastern Europe during the 19th century, applies a highly introspective and self-critical approach to life.

The author locates and visits one of the great luminaries of the Mussar school, Rabbi Yechiel Perr. Perr is a traditional rabbi, dean of an orthodox yeshiva in the suburbs of New York. Far from being a strict disciplinarian, Rabbi Perr is described as a happy man with a great sense of humor and passion for life. Perr invites the author into his home and shares with him insights into ethics and life, which inspire the author.

This is a wonderful book wrtten with courage, sensitivity and clarity.
The theme is a story of getting lost on life's journey and on finding a way back- no easy task in our North American culture of "materialism and self-centeredness".
Alan Morinis generously shares his "journey" which took him to the little known ancient Jewish spiritual practice called Musar.
At first through his reading and studying of obscure texts and eventually with the guidance of a wise and compassionate teacher, the author rediscovers his "true nature".
The book overflows with wisdom and ancient truths and the practices and techniques of Musar are clearly laid out at the end of each chapter.
Morinis wrestles with the question of whether one has to be a practicing Orthodox Jew to follow the path of Musar and concludes that one doesn't. In fact, I think that the path of Musar is open to all who genuinely thirst after truth and wisdom.
The author generously shares his "journey" and his discoveries in a way that enables the reader to begin an ancient practice that can be life transforming.

In a world where spiritual materialism is rampant, it is refreshing to find the real thing. _Climbing Jacob's Ladder_ by Alan Morinis is an up close and personal introduction to Mussar, a little known, nearly obliterated form of Jewish Wisdom which aims in the most practical way to help anyone find his soul and then to cut through the clutter to balance and strengthen that soul by various techniques. There is no quick fix here, but what this book has to say jibes with as much as I have learned. Spirituality is largely a matter of practice. God helps those who work on their technique!  

I stumbled on this book when it was reviewed in the Religion section of the Houston Chronicle. Like Alan Morinis I am a secular person. Once I bought the book I couldn't put it down. Then I reread it and started to study it. I learned to do some of the exercises. I use The exercise with the elastic band whenever I am stuck in a line anywhere. It calms me down. (You'll have to get the book to learn it.)
I find this book to be an excellent introduction to Mussar. It is almost painless but it does require effort and concentration.

with, as other reviewers pointed out, a nice selection of practical exercises, like holding a rubber band or some other talisman when you get angry (to remind yourself that almost everyone gets angry and has to get over it), concentrating on one or two words when praying, and trying to think about the positive good you can help create when you are engaged in social action (rather than on who you are angry at for creating the problem).

Alan Morinis is pioneering the rediscovery of the Jewish practice of Mussar, which
may be thought of as the personal growth practices branch of Judaism. In this book, he recounts
his experience with Rabbi Perr, a modern day Mussar teacher, who embodies the quest for
awareness, accountability, realness, unflinching honesty, and lovingkindness that one embraces
on the path of mUssar. THe book is touching, deeply engaging, and also useful and informative
for one's own practice. Highly recommended!

This is one of those books you look for to guide you down the true path to correct worship of The Most High.
If you have ever asked,"Is this it,is this all there is", this is a book for you.

Written in the style of Tuesdays with Morrie - middle-aged Jewish guy, plodding through life's ethical dilemmas, connects with older, wiser Jewish man and learns much about himself and the world around him - Climbing Jacob's Ladder is an exceptionally well-crafted book. The guru figure of this book, though, is not a self-styled professor, saddled with a debilitating, terminal illness. Rather, he is, Rabbi Yechiel Perr, dean of an Orthodox Yeshiva, who is steeped in an age old ethics-based tradition, known as Mussar.

The book's author, Alan Morinis, is effective on numerous planes. For one, he makes the somewhat arcane theoretical underpinnings of Mussar accessible to a larger audience: You don't just have a soul; you are a soul. Second, Morinis breathes new life into some of the perhaps stultified practices of Mussar. An example here is when he presents Heshbon Hanefesh/moral inventory in a manner that subtly deviates from the more statistics-based, quantitative approach introduced by its original author and heads toward a more descriptive, qualitative approach - one that empowers readers to move beyond simply identifying moral lapses to understanding their causes and finding solutions.

An intriguing question that winds its way through the book is whether Mussar, as a discipline originally devised to help observant Jews adhere to the strictures of Orthodoxy, can be adapted for use by those who wish to remain part of broader society, even as they crave a more ethical, spiritual life. Morinis, on more than one occasion, poses this question to Rabbi Perr, and his mentor typically responds in oblique fashion. Whether or not we are to call Morinis' book and the endeavors it has spawned Mussar, his work has inspired (and moved to action) a wide array of people, many of whom are clearly not Orthodox.

For those who personally know Rabbi Perr, this book holds an additional attraction. Morinis paints a stunningly vivid verbal portrait - one that seems to capture a great deal of the venerated dean's aura, from his imposing physical presence to the complex and seemingly contradictory facets of his personality. As someone who had studied in Rabbi Perr's Yeshiva for a number of years, I will often refer to the images presented by Morinis, and experience a tingling sense of the dean's, or (as we refer to him) the Rosh Yeshiva's presence - one that tides me over, in between our all too infrequent phone conversations.

The book came in great condition and is very helpful for an essay that I'm currently writing. I definitely recommend it for anyone looking to gain insight on the Mussar movement.