Israel Salanter

Rabbi Israel Salanter was a famed 19th-century Lithuanian rosh yeshiva and founder of the Musar movement, which promoted ethical and spiritual introspection among eastern European Jews and became an integral part of the curriculum of the Lithuanian yeshivot. His family name was Lipkin, but he is known as Israel Salanter after the town of Salant, where he grew up and studied. At an early age, he came under the influence of Rabbi Zundel of Salant, a known Musar figure. He headed yeshivot in Vilna and other Lithuanian cities. After his death, his student Rabbi Isaac Blazer (known as Rabbi Itzele Peterburger) published his teachings and succeeded him as head of the Musar movement.