Musar as a Challenge to the Justification of Mass Killing

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “Musar as a Challenge to the Justification of Mass Killing.” Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas , vol. 5, no. 1 (2025...

Jewish Ethics: The Basics

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, Jewish Ethics: The Basics  (Routledge, 2025). Jewish Ethics: The Basics demonstrates how ancient and contemporary id...

Gov. Roy Cooper must veto N.C.’s misguided SHALOM Act

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An op-ed published by the  Elon University Writers Syndicate , the Charlotte Observer , the Raleigh News & Observer , and the Durham Her...

Killing children in the Israel-Hamas war is not justified

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An op-ed published by the Elon University Writers Syndicate ,  Greensboro News & Record , and the Winston-Salem Journal .

Jewish Virtue Ethics

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, Alexander Green, and Alan L. Mittleman, eds.,  Jewish Virtue Ethics (Albany: SUNY Press, 2023). What is good charact...

Moses and the Kid, Judah and the Calf, and the Disavowal of Compassion

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “Moses and the Kid, Judah and the Calf, and the Disavowal of Compassion: Reading Rabbinic Stories with The Question o...

Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought (Lincoln and Philadelphia: University of Nebraska Press and The Je...

‘Kosher’ Should Not Be Synonymous With Factory Farming

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We should not describe food as "kosher" when it is produced in ways that cause significant harm to workers, animals, and the envir...

Musar in a White Supremacist Society

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, "Musar in a White Supremacist Society: Arrogance, Self-Examination, and Systemic Change,” in No Time for Neutral...

Teaching Modern Jewish Ethics Through Role-Play

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, "Teaching Modern Jewish Ethics Through Role-Play,"  Journal of Jewish Ethics , vol. 6, no. 1 (2020): 74–93....

The Exodus and Some Possibilities of Jewish Political Thought

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Geoffrey D. Claussen and Emily A. Filler, “The Exodus and Some Possibilities of Jewish Political Thought,” in T&T Clark Handbook of Pol...

"I Will Be With Them": God at the Burning Bush as an Ideal of Compassion for all Creatures

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “‘I Will Be With Them’: God at the Burning Bush as an Ideal of Compassion for all Creatures,” in Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh , ...

Musar and Jewish Veganism

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “Musar and Jewish Veganism,” in Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and New Directions , ed. Jacob Labendz ...

Two Orthodox Approaches to Vulnerability and the Exodus Narrative: The Stranger in the Writings of Irving Greenberg and Meir Kahane

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “Two Orthodox Approaches to Vulnerability and the Exodus Narrative: The Stranger in the Writings of Irving Greenberg ...

Ethical Exploration

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A short essay for Elon University's 2018 President's Report, focused on confronting aspects of ourselves and our traditions t...

War, Musar, and the Construction of Humility in Modern Jewish Thought

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “War, Musar , and the Construction of Humility in Modern Jewish Thought,” Interreligious Studies and Interreligious ...

Constructing Interreligious Studies

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Amy L. Allocco, Geoffrey D. Claussen, and Brian K. Pennington, “Constructing Interreligious Studies: Thinking Critically about Interfaith S...

Translation: Selections from Israel Salanter's Or Yisrael

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Yisrael (Lipkin) Salanter, "Light of Israel" (selections from Letter #30), trans. Geoffrey D. Claussen, in Jewish Legal Theorie...

Repairing Character Traits and Repairing the Jews: The Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin in the Nineteenth Century

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “Repairing Character Traits and Repairing the Jews: The Talmud Torahs of Kelm and Grobin in the Nineteenth Century,” ...

Angels, Humans, and the Struggle for Moral Excellence in the Writings of Meir Simhah of Dvinsk and Simhah Zissel of Kelm

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, “Angels, Humans, and the Struggle for Moral Excellence in the Writings of Meir Simhah of Dvinsk and Simhah Zissel o...

Cultivating Humility in America

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A short essay in Sh’ma Now: A Journal of Jewish Sensibilities , vol. 48, no. 731 (November 2017): "Cultivating Humility in Amer...

The Promise and Limits of R. Simhah Zissel Ziv’s Musar: A Response to Miller, Cooper, Pugh, and Peters

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, "The Promise and Limits of R. Simhah Zissel Ziv’s Musar: A Response to Miller, Cooper, Pugh, and Peters,"  ...

The Kaddish, the Allegory of the Cave, and the Golden Calf: Meditations on Education and the Encounter with God

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Geoffrey Claussen, “The Kaddish, the Allegory of the Cave, and the Golden Calf: Meditations on Education and the Encounter with God,” i...

The Shield of Abraham Will Not Guarantee Our Righteousness

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A brief Torah commentary on Genesis 15:1 (Parashat Lech Lecha) on the T'ruah website:  " The Shield of Abraham Will Not Guaran...

Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar

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Geoffrey D. Claussen, Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar (Albany: SUNY Press, 2015). From the publish...

The Legacy of the Kelm School of Musar on Questions of Work, Wealth and Poverty

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Geoffrey Claussen, "The Legacy of the Kelm School of Musar on Questions of Work, Wealth and Poverty,” in Wealth and Poverty in Jewis...

Pinḥas, the Quest for Purity, and the Dangers of Tikkun Olam

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Geoffrey Claussen, “Pinhas, the Quest for Purity, and the Dangers of Tikkun Olam,” in Tikkun Olam: Judaism, Humanism and Transcendence , ...

A Jewish Perspective on War, Scripture, and Moral Accounting

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Geoffrey Claussen, “A Jewish Perspective on War, Scripture, and Moral Accounting,” The Journal of Scriptural Reasoning , vol. 14, no. 1 (20...

Introducing Jewish Studies Through Jewish Thought and Practice

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Geoffrey Claussen, “Introducing Jewish Studies through Jewish Thought and Practice,” Shofar , vol. 32, no. 4 (2014), 60–75. In this pedago...

Musar (Movement) - Encyclopedia Article

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Geoffrey Claussen, “Musar,” in Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur , ed. Dan Diner (Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 2013), vol. 4, pp...

Translation: Notice Posted on the Door of the Kelm Talmud Torah Before the High Holidays

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In the Fall 2013 issue of the Jewish Review of Books , I published an introduction and translation to the notice, written by Rabbi Simhah Zi...

The Practice of Musar

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Geoffrey Claussen, “The Practice of Musar,” Conservative Judaism 63, no. 2 (2012), 3–26. Full text here . In this article, I make some ...

Jewish Virtue Ethics and Compassion for Animals: A Model from the Musar Movement

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Geoffrey Claussen, “Jewish Virtue Ethics and Compassion for Animals: A Model from the Musar Movement.” CrossCurrents 61, no. 2 (2011), 208...

God and Suffering in Heschel’s Torah Min Ha-Shamayim

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Geoffrey Claussen, “God and Suffering in Heschel’s Torah Min Ha-Shamayim .” Conservative Judaism 61, no. 4 (2010), 17–42. Drawing on Abra...

Article: Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv on Love and Empathy

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Geoffrey Claussen, “Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simḥah Zissel Ziv on Love and Empathy.” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 30, no. 2...

The American Jewish Revival of Musar

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Geoffrey Claussen, “The American Jewish Revival of Musar.” The Hedgehog Review 12, no. 2 (2010), 63-72. A woman writes in her journal ev...

Elon faculty profile

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I serve as Lori and Eric Sklut Professor in Jewish Studies, Professor of Religious Studies, and Chair of the Department of Religious S...