Simcha Zissel Ziv threats to traditional Judaism and to strengthen the cause of the Musar movement, Simcha Zissel decided to open a school in Kelm, the Kelm Talmud Torah. At the time, Simcha Zissel was almost forty years old. The Talmud Torah opened in approximately 1865 and attracted young students, mainly thirteen and fourteen-year-olds. Simcha Zissel’s teacher – Rabbi Yisrael Salanter – had taught Simcha Zissel the importance of Musar and so the Talmud Torah aimed not only to enhance its student’s Torah knowledge but also to shape their personalities and develop their character traits using the Musar approach. Indeed, much of daily
Simcha Zissel Ziv study at the Talmud Torah focused on Musar, while comparatively little time was devoted to the conventional study of Talmud. Simcha Zissel also introduced general subjects such as geography, mathematics, and Russian into the Talmud Torah curriculum. These subjects were studied for three hours a day, which was unprecedented in traditional Lithuanian yeshivas. Simcha Zissel did not view general studies as a "necessary evil" but rather argued that such studies would encourage "better living" and "a better understanding of religious teachings as well." In 1872, Simcha Zissel purchased a plot of land and erected a building for the Talmud Torah.