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
Is Theosophy a Religion? and charlatanism and issued a verdict: "The denial of a personal God nullifies its claim to be a spiritualistic philosophy." Kalnitsky stated: "The movement that Madame Blavatsky began may be classified as an important foundational legitimator of later NRMs, directly or indirectly influencing other schools, groups, individuals, and thus, spreading elements of its ideational structure into society at large." In support of his words Kalnitsky refers to the British scholar of religious studies George Chryssides and professor John Melton. Is Theosophy a Religion? "Is Theosophy a Religion?" is an editorial published in November 1888 in the theosophical magazine "Lucifer"; it