Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers

When, if ever, should lying be permitted? If you've damaged a person's reputation unfairly, can the damage be undone? Is a person who sells weapons responsible for how those weapons are used? if the fetus is not a life, what is it? How, as an adult, can one carry out the command to honor one's parents when they make unreasonable demands? What are the nine biblical challenges a good person must meet? What do the great Jewish writings of the last 3,500 years tell us about these and all other vital questions about our lives? Rabbi Joseph Telushkin has devoted his life to the search for answers within the teachings of Judaism. In Jewish Wisdom, Rabbi Telushkin, the author of the highly acclaimed Jewish Literacy, weaves together a tapestry of stories from the Bible and Talmud, and the insights of Jewish commentators and writers from Maimonides, Rashi, and Hillel to Einstein, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Elie Wiesel. A richer source of crucial life lessons would be hard to imagine. Accompanying this extraordinary compilation is Teluslikins compelling commentary, which reveals how these texts continue to instruct and challenge Jewsand all people concerned with leading ethical livestoday As he discusses these texts, Rabbi Telushkin addresses issues of fundamental interest to modern readers: how to live with honesty and integrity in an often dishonest world; how to care for the sick and dying; how to teach children to respect both themselves and others, how to understand and confront such great tragedies as antisemitism. and the Holocaust; what God wants from humankind. Within Jewish Wisdom's ninety chapters the reader will find extended sections illuminating Jewish perspectives on sex, romance, and marriage, what kind of belief in God a Jew can have after the Holocaust, how to use language ethically, the conflicting views of the Bible and Talmud on the death penalty, and much, much more. Jewish Wisdom adds a new dimension to the many widely read contemporary books that retell the stones and reveal the essence of classic religious and secular literature. Possibly the most far-ranging volume of stories and quotations from Jewish texts, Jewish Wisdom will itself become a classic, a book that not only has the capacity to transform how you view the world, but one that well might change how you choose to live your life.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member fingerpost

The long subtitle describes what this book is quite handily. On any number of subjects within the umbrella of Judaism, Telushkin provides quotations and commentary. His interests in his religion closely parallel my own interests, so I am naturally inclined to view it favorably. As in all of his

books that I've read, the focal point is ethics. Issues of ritual, history, prayer, services and such are usually viewed through the lens of ethics. If one who has read many of Telushkin's books, one will find his favorite tidbits repeated in one form or fashion with some frequency.

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LibraryThing member SGTCat

I read this over the course of a year or so. It is a collection of sayings and quotes that seems to cover almost every major subject of Jewish thought, history and life. I like how informative it is, how it pointed me in the direction I needed to go for further reading on specific subjects, and it

makes for great train reading on a mobile device, because you can easily pick up where you left off without really losing the train of thought or argument of the author. Mostly because there isn't an overarching narrative or argument. The book is an exploration of Jewish thought in general. Worth the time it takes to read through it.

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