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 his foremost students. He shared a special relationship with the group's members and he worked on writing out his discourses for them, which, unfortunately, required more strength than he had. A number of his students settled in Palestine in 1892, opening the "Beis HaMusar" in Jerusalem, under Simcha Zissel’s auspices and with his support. Simcha Zissel died on Wednesday 26 July 1898 – the eve of Tisha B'Av, shortly after having recited the morning Shema. He died while in the middle of the paragraph “Ezras avoseinu”. Simcha Zissel was known for his humility, lovingkindness, thoughtfulness, and focus on order. At