Spiritual Practice of Good Actions: Finding Balance Through the Soul Traits of Mussar

by Greg Marcus

Bring your everyday life into alignment with your aspirational values through Mussar, a thousand-year-old Jewish practice of spiritual growth based on mindful living. Perfect for anyone, regardless of age or experience, this comprehensive book presents thirteen soul traits―ranging from humility and gratitude to trust and honor―and the simple daily actions you can take to develop them.  Drawing on universal principles and providing grounded instruction, The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions helps you explore soul traits through daily techniques and exercises,including mantras, mindful observation, and journaling. Nurture your spirit with inspiring stories and build a soul trait profile to better understand yourself. By dedicating two weeks of practice to each trait,you'll see major changes in how you approach the world and feel empowered to be your best self.

Genres: Nonfiction, Judaism, Spirituality

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2016

About the author

Rabbu Dr Greg Marcus is the creator of American Mussar, a 21st century spiritual practice for an authentic and meaningful life. Rabbi Greg offers guidance on how to lead a life of mindful harmony and spiritual integrity, drawing upon timeless Jewish teachings and contemporary wisdom alike. Rabbi Greg was ordained by the Academy of Jewish Religion, Californai and has been practicing and facilitating Mussar for ten years. He has a Ph.D. from MIT, and was a marketer in Silicon Valley for almost 10 years.

Visit him online at www.AmericanMussar.com.

Reviews

[C. Varn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Marcus' "The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions" is a Jewish-inflected set of practices to help one be virtuous. It is clear that many of the classics of Rabbinic Jewish around the practice of Musser were coming from similar places to Aristotle's virtue ethics with an ethics set pulled from the Torah, Talmud, and Jewish tradition. The concern with balancing virtues to overcome excess has roots thus in both "secular" (to use an anachronistic) Greek philosophy and Jewish wisdom literature paired together.

Greg Marcus is a very practical writer, and he frames Musser practices practically. He does try to explain traditional Hebrew conceptions underlying the virtues selected, but mostly let's the examples and practices emerge from daily life, and he does not require anyone to even be a believer to use these practices. I admit that, at first, this book felt a little too self-help driven to me, but Marcus included enough of the tradition and philosophy paired with enough practical advice that I was engaged the entire time.

The 13 virtues, or "middot," are addressed in each chapter with examples, Jewish justification and values the virtues are viewed differently in light of Jewish tradition (from primarily secularized Christian assumptions), examples and counter-examples, and then practical advice and practices. It laid out like a class. Marcus also allows modern people into Judaism in ways they are comfortable. It does not demand hyper-observance to work, and Marcus walks people through the small steps they can do to practice virtuous living and work to be a Mensch.

I find this book to be very engaging and helpful.

[Jarie Bolander · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wonderful Exploration on How to Improve Your Soul

Greg’s first book, Busting Your Corporate Idol: Self-Help for the Chronically Overworked, was a wonderful read on how you can get off track when you are out of balance. For me, Idol lacked a framework for how to improve this horrible condition of overworking and living out of balance. That’s why I was excited to get to read an early draft of The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions since it was the framework that Idol lacked for how to do the hard work to improve your “soul”.

I know that “soul” might seen too religious for some but that should not distract you from the message of The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions — strive for balance so that you can have an authentic and meaningful life.

Greg’s writing is clear and concise with some wonderful stories of how Mussar has changed his life and the lives of the people he coaches. It’s not “religiously” yet it does quote jewish scripture from which Mussar derives it’s teachings. Thankfully, the only hebrew (or Yiddish) you ever need to know is Mussar. Well, that’s not exactly correct. One other hebrew word would be Mensh (I’ll let you look it up). By practicing Mussar, you’ll also learn how to be a Mensch, which we should all strive to be. Pick up a copy of The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions and get on the path to be the best Mensh you can be.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an attempt to make Mussar (a Jewish form of self-help) accessible to secular people. The book has one chapter on each of thirteen "soul traits", combined with exercises designed to help you think about those traits. Ideally, you should focus on each trait for two weeks at a time. Not having tried this I can't vouch for its usefulness or lack thereof; all I can say is that the book seemed reasonably interesting and persuasive.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to read after you have read the Alan Morinis text, Everyday Holiness. Greg Marcus explains the 13 Mussar traits in very down to earth, honest terms. I particularly liked his discussion of Trust and his acknowledgement that not everyone has a comfortable relationship with a Divine Power.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book which really should be read and re-read. I would recommend.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahh, balance begun! I first heard about Mussar when an interim rabbi at my congregation offered a course therein. The prospect intrigued me: stereotypically, Jews tend to live on the edge of our seats; ready to fly off the handle / into action / in a tizzy at a moment's notice. A Jewish practice of mindful calm based on scripture, modern thought, and ageless wisdom seemed to be not only to be surprisingly novel and refreshing; but life-saving.

I acquired Alan Morinis' *Everyday Holiness* but it didn't help because I hadn't had the chance to read it yet. When Greg Marcus, a student of Morinis', presented *The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions*, I decided to first study with the master student. Still, I took months to read *The Spiritual Practice...* and will probably have to re-read it. I learned toward the end of this book that such process is actually closer to the way to go in learning and processing Mussar.

Though I am Hebrew-literate, I appreciate Marcus' 99% English-terminology approach as a good entree to all Hebrew-levels of Mussar-illiterate folks. I felt that there would be more goodies in store, somehow. I also appreciate Marcus' bravery in sharing his own ups and downs of integrating Mussar into his own life. Marcus presents the integration of Mussar encouragingly; as a fluid process. A student who takes in a little bit at a time receives more benefit than one who gobbles Mussar down as a fast-food snack. He says he is not yet finished because the practice ends only with the end of our lives.

I'm glad Mussar is available. I'm glad for Marcus' book and the Morinis book to follow. I'm grateful that equanimity is within my grasp.

[Dan Charnas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be a brilliant articulation and expansion of a value-system and a morality that I have been trying to follow for quite some time. It is written in a clear and easy-to-read style, and the author is to be congratulated for his ability to engage the reader with a balanced blend of historical Jewish philosophic references, personal experiences, and a benign but continual undercurrent of belief in a power greater than ourselves.
I'm hooked. Thank you, Dr. Marcus.

[Wynndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is interesting to note this critique is being offered on the "Goodreads" site for a book that has "Good" as part of its title. Please excuse me for the possible overuse of the word "good" throughout this post. How can I be good? To me to be good meant a concept in Hebrew, Tikkun Olam, which means to heal the world. That is what my adult goal has become. But how would I get there and how would I know when I had accomplished Tikkun Olam? I wanted to be giving, grateful, truthful, patient, and kind, but how would I measure these character traits and know when I had acted the right way, said the right thing, and given the right way? In 2020, while searching for wisdom to gain this knowledge, I happened on "The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions" and an on-line class led by the book's author, Rabbi Greg Marcus, where I would join with others who were in search of ways to grow in these attributes. The book offers practical, easy-to-follow ways to embrace the concepts of Mussar. The first thing I learned was that the way to act on soul traits is to develop balance. I was surprised to learn that my fervent enthusiasm just might be too much, and that my reluctance to talk might be deterring me from helping others. I have been using this text for over three years in my Mussar practice and each time I open to a soul trait, I learn more and more. It is really a training manual that offers guidance for the Jewish spiritual practice of Mussar which is both transformative and empowering. Rabbi Greg Marcus put obviously heartfelt research and study into the text. He shares life examples, scholarly quotes, Biblical references, and a path to developing our "good" selves.
This is a forever book and a forever read! I am on my fourth read.

[Angy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a well-written book and Greg Marcus does well in engaging the reader throughout the book. However, I did find this to be a bit repetitive and not so relevant to me. This is not a book that you should pick up in the library or bookstore and check out willy-nilly, I would really only recommend it if you are specifically interested in Mussar, which I wasn't really.

[Melissa Crespy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read a third of the book before I had to return it to the library, but I think that I would have read it to the end, and begun practicing its wise teachings.

[Natalie Stegman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[crwx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read Duties of the Heart, but I have read Everyday Holiness and I feel like this is (so far) the most practical guide to Mussar. It does a great job of making the content accessible and enjoyable for non-religious peoples, while also mentioning the Biblical context from which Mussar came.

For me I will be re-reading this book. Lots of good practical advice.