The community of Provence, with its steadfast efforts to preserve its own unique nature and customs, became an island of Talmud study, but was full of internal rivalries and disputes. Yet amongst the strong personalities of the scholars of Provence was the tranquil Rabbi Meshulum of Badrash. From his writings and that of his relative Rabbi Asher ben Shalmiya, we learn of visionary men who instilled the spirit of mussar into their yeshivos centuries before Rabbi Yisroel Salanter.