The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical LivingRabbi Joseph Telushkin combed the Bible, the Talmud, and the whole spectrum of Judaism's sacred writings to give us a manual on how to lead a decent, kind, and honest life in a morally complicated world. "An absolutely superb book: the most practical, most comprehensive guide to Jewish values I know." —Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People Telushkin speaks to the major ethical issues of our time, issues that have, of course, been around since the beginning. He offers one or two pages a day of pithy, wise, and easily accessible teachings designed to be put into immediate practice. The range of the book is as broad as life itself: • The first trait to seek in a spouse (Day 17) • When, if ever, lying is permitted (Days 71-73) • Why acting cheerfully is a requirement, not a choice (Day 39) • What children don't owe their parents (Day 128) • Whether Jews should donate their organs (Day 290) • An effective but expensive technique for curbing your anger (Day 156) • How to raise truthful children (Day 298) • What purchases are always forbidden (Day 3) In addition, Telushkin raises issues with ethical implications that may surprise you, such as the need to tip those whom you don't see (Day 109), the right thing to do when you hear an ambulance siren (Day 1), and why wasting time is a sin (Day 15). Whether he is telling us what Jewish tradition has to say about insider trading or about the relationship between employers and employees, he provides fresh inspiration and clear guidance for every day of our lives. |
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 1 |
Shabbat | 11 |
When a Person Says Im Hungry | 20 |
Dont Waste Time | 30 |
WEEK | 32 |
WEEK 4 | 40 |
WEEK | 46 |
Dont Steal Another Persons Mind | 51 |
Beyond the Letter of the Law | 292 |
30 | 293 |
The Dust of Forbidden Speech | 300 |
31 | 301 |
Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs and the Need for a New Kind of Hero | 302 |
Start Your Day with Gratitude | 303 |
If You Have a Tendency to Complain About Others | 305 |
Respect Your Familys Privacy | 306 |
10 | 55 |
WEEK 6 | 60 |
What Is Lashon Hara? | 73 |
11 | 75 |
Tzedaka Is More Than Charity | 84 |
The Torah on the Blind and the Deaf | 86 |
Standing Up for Justice | 87 |
Dont Buy Products Produced by Exploited Workers | 88 |
Everybody Deserves a Tenk You | 89 |
The Need for Moral Imagination | 90 |
Shabbat | 91 |
WEEK 10 | 92 |
One Who Learns from His Companion a Single Chapter | 99 |
WEEK 11 | 100 |
Judaism and White Lies | 102 |
13 | 103 |
Lies Told for Reasons of Humility Privacy and Not to Harm Another | 104 |
Declaring a Complaining Fast | 106 |
The Most Unusual of Blessings | 107 |
Treating People Who Are Retarded with Respect | 109 |
Shabbat | 110 |
WEEK 12 | 111 |
15 | 117 |
Dont Charge Interest | 120 |
When You Suspect Child Abuse | 122 |
20 | 124 |
Dont Make People Tell You Lies | 127 |
He Who Saves a Single Life It Is as If He Saved an Entire World | 128 |
Untamed Anger and the Death Of Love | 130 |
Dont Make Unrealistic Demands of People | 131 |
A Jewish View of Hunting | 133 |
Feed Your Animals Before Yourself | 135 |
Dont Spread Negative but Irrelevant Information About Someone You Dislike | 136 |
Dont Humiliate an Enemy | 137 |
Shabbat | 138 |
WEEK 15 | 139 |
Pray for Someone Else Today | 148 |
WEEK 16 | 149 |
Acknowledge Your Sin and Accept Responsibility | 151 |
Ask for Forgiveness Even When Youre Not Fully in the Wrong | 152 |
Tipping Even Those Whose Faces You Dont See | 153 |
What If You Could Read Your Obituary Today? | 154 |
The Infinite Ways of Doing Good | 157 |
You Shall Not Place a Stumbling Block | 169 |
Paying a Laborers Wages Promptly | 179 |
WEEK 19 | 180 |
What You Dont Owe Your Parents | 182 |
WEEK 18 | 184 |
Two Pieces of Paper | 185 |
Read and Listen to Points of View with Which You Disagree | 186 |
Its Not Only What You Do for Your Parents That Counts Its Your Attitude | 188 |
Shabbat | 189 |
WEEK 20 | 190 |
Dont Threaten Your Children with Physical Punishment | 192 |
Enter a Mourners Home with Silence | 193 |
Dont Take My Grief from Me | 195 |
An Unforgivable Sin | 197 |
When Its Good to Be a Fool | 200 |
WEEK 21 | 201 |
Schedule Kindness into Your Day | 203 |
Dont Be a Pious Fool | 204 |
Dont Serve Liquor with an Overly Generous Hand | 206 |
26 | 207 |
Dont Embarrass Your Guest Dont Embarrass Your Children | 208 |
Shabbat | 209 |
WEEK 22 | 210 |
How You Can Help | 213 |
How to Change Negative Behavior | 215 |
The Unending Obligation to Be Kind | 217 |
Whats Hateful Unto You | 218 |
Not Everything That Is Thought Should Be Said | 219 |
Shabbat | 220 |
WEEK 23 | 221 |
An Expensive Technique for Overcoming Anger | 222 |
Putting Things into Perspective | 224 |
Treating Your Employees with Respect | 229 |
WEEK 24 | 230 |
How Fear of God Can Make You a Better Person 2 | 231 |
Express Gratitude to Your Parents | 233 |
When Your Mate and Your Parents Are in Conflict | 234 |
From a Child Is Beautiful Anything | 236 |
This Is the Most Delicious Muffin I Have Ever Tasted | 237 |
Shabbat | 239 |
WEEK 25 | 240 |
Steady Giving | 249 |
WEEK 26 | 250 |
Should a Doctor or a Close Family Member Tell the Truth to a Person Who Is Dying? | 252 |
27 | 253 |
Is Your Work Sacred? | 255 |
Is Abortion Murder? Should a Womans Right to Abortion Be Absolute? | 257 |
Should a Woman Have the Right to Do What She Wants with Her Body? | 260 |
Rabbi Aryeh Levine and the Mitzvah to Visit the Sick | 263 |
WEEK 27 | 264 |
Teach Your Child Torah | 266 |
Teach Your Child the Value of Human Life | 268 |
A Pragmatic Reason for Forgiving Others | 270 |
Help Someone to Find a Spouse Help Someone to Find Work | 272 |
WEEK 28 | 273 |
An Employer Must Know How His Employees Live | 274 |
Confession and Your Neighbors Soul | 275 |
How Can One Repent Who Has Committed the Ultimate and Unforgivable Sin? | 277 |
When a Jew Acts Dishonestly Toward a NonJew | 278 |
One Boss in a Million | 281 |
29 | 282 |
Three Traits That Reveal Your Character | 285 |
Until the Day of Ones Death | 286 |
When the Old Become Frail | 288 |
What Does a Good Guest Say? | 307 |
Shabbat | 308 |
Question to Ask Yourself Before You Criticize Another | 309 |
Knowing When to Step Aside | 311 |
When Youve Judged Another Unfairly | 313 |
Therefore Was Man Created Singly | 315 |
If Someone Wishes to Kill You Get Up Early and Kill Him First | 317 |
33 | 319 |
Be Conscious of the Goodness and Sweetness in Others | 320 |
WEEK 33 | 321 |
When Its Right to Be Early | 322 |
His Mercy Is Upon All His Works | 329 |
The Power of Goodness | 331 |
Teach Your Child a Profession | 333 |
Teach Your Child That What Matters Most to God Is Goodness | 339 |
WEEK 35 | 340 |
Dont Pretend to Virtues You Dont Have | 341 |
What Is the Neighbors Responsibility? | 343 |
The Surprising Wording of the Biblical Commandment | 345 |
If Parents Become Senile | 349 |
Are You in an Abusive Relationship? | 351 |
Dont Be an Elitist | 352 |
Dont Encourage Your Children to Date Wealthy People | 354 |
Marriage Is Also Supposed to Be Fun | 356 |
Shabbat | 357 |
The Painful Challenging Question Parents Must Ask Children | 358 |
Be Generous with Power | 359 |
When Silence Is Golden | 361 |
Learn Even from Those with Whom You Disagree | 362 |
Revenge and the Command to Love Your Neighbor | 363 |
Who Is a Hero? A Jewish Perspective | 365 |
Shabbat | 366 |
WEEK 38 | 367 |
When an Accident Is No Accident | 368 |
Dont Be a Mitzvah Hero at Someone Elses Expense | 374 |
WEEK 39 | 375 |
Maimonides Art Buchwald and the Importance of Every Deed | 376 |
Your Obligation | 378 |
A Nightly Prayer Before Going to Sleep | 380 |
Dont Let Your Child Humiliate Another Child | 382 |
What the Fifth Commandment Demands of Parents | 384 |
WEEK 40 | 385 |
On Not Embarrassing the Recipient | 386 |
Is There Someone Youre Ignoring Whom You Should Ask for Forgiveness? | 388 |
Dont Forgive on Other Peoples Behalf | 394 |
When There Is No Shalom Bayit in Your Bayit | 397 |
When Jewish Law Permits a Person to Be Publicly Shamed | 398 |
The Limits of Gods Forgiveness | 400 |
Its Not Enough to Be Nice Timing Also Matters | 401 |
How to Avoid Giving in to Temptation | 402 |
The Final Words a Jew Should Speak | 403 |
CONTENTS | 404 |
Should a Jew Donate His Organs? | 405 |
Listen Really Listen | 407 |
How Not to Teach Torah | 410 |
WEEK 43 | 411 |
Dont Be a Racist | 412 |
Never Practice Ingratitude | 413 |
Raising Truthful Children | 414 |
Empathy Is Not Natural | 416 |
Express Your Gratitude to the People Nearest to You Now | 419 |
WEEK 44 | 420 |
When Anonymous Giving Is Important and When It Is Not | 421 |
When Silence Is Criminal | 422 |
If You Learn That Someone Is Intending to Hurt Another | 423 |
You Are Not as Good as You Think You Are and the World Is Not as Bad as You Think It Is | 424 |
When Pious Words Are Irreligious | 426 |
Shabbat | 427 |
Is Your Blood Redder? | 429 |
Should There Be a Limit to Parental Love? | 434 |
A Time for Silence | 435 |
When Praising Someone Is the Wrong Thing to Do | 436 |
You and Your Ex | 442 |
WEEK 47 | 443 |
Dont Get Used to Other Peoples Suffering | 445 |
Whats Wrong with Your Life? Whats Right? | 446 |
Shiva the Final Act of Gratitude | 447 |
Repentance Is GoodOverrepentance Is Not | 451 |
WEEK 48 | 452 |
Watch Your Compliments | 453 |
When Legal Doesnt Equal Moral | 454 |
Using Your Evil Urge to Do Good | 455 |
Let Your Word Not Your Oath Be Your Bond | 457 |
Never Insult Another | 460 |
WEEK 49 | 461 |
The Four Guidelines of the Chaffetz Chayyim | 462 |
Telling Your Children Im Sorry | 470 |
WEEK 50 | 471 |
Study Judaism Fifteen Minutes a Day Starting Now | 478 |
Random Acts of Kindness | 479 |
One Who Calls Another Person by a Cruel Nickname | 480 |
WEEK 51 | 481 |
A Husbands Obligations to His Wife | 482 |
Dont Insult Your Spouse | 483 |
Jews Shouldnt Be Cheap Jewish Funerals Should Be | 490 |
WEEK 52 | 491 |
Would Jewish Ethics Permit a Jew to Own a Gun Store? | 492 |
Wronging with Words | 493 |
The Telephone as an Instrument for Good | 495 |
Torah Study and the Importance of Review | 497 |
A Week of Kindness a Week of Gemilut Chesed | 498 |
Shabbat | 500 |
502 | |
GLOSSARY OF HEBREW TEXTS CITED | 504 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 506 |
513 | |
Other editions - View all
The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living Rabbi Joseph Telushkin Limited preview - 2011 |
The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-day Guide to Ethical Living Joseph Telushkin No preview available - 2000 |
The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living Rabbi Joseph Telushkin No preview available - 2000 |
Common terms and phrases
Abraham Abraham Twerski anger animals Aryeh Levine asked Babylonian Talmud basis for discussion bat mitzvah Bava Mezia behavior biblical blessing charity child commandment Dennis Prager Deuteronomy donate etrog example Exodus father fear feel forbidden forgiveness FRIDAY give guests Hillel honor human hurt Israelites Jewish ethics Jewish law Jewish tradition Jews Judaism lashon hara learned Leviticus lives Maimonides Mishna Mishneh Torah Moses mother murder neighbor never non-Jews obligated one's parents person prayer preceding six days Rabbi Rabbi Akiva Reb Aryeh Reb Shlomo religious reminds Resh Lakish responsibility review the material scholar SHABBAT During uring Shabbat meals Shabbat Shalom Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Zalman sick someone speak spouse story suffering synagogue Talmud teaches tell texts studied things told Torah truth try to review tzedaka uring the course verse WEEK wife woman words Yom Kippur