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.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Jewish Wisdom to Guide and Inspire Us:
Jewish Wisdom is more than a source book on ethical, spiritual and historical teachings of Judaism. It enables the reader to appreciate how the sacred Jewish texts, rabbis and sages of Judaism understood the essence of being human and the complexities of living a moral life in a complicated world. This book belongs on every Jewish book shelf!
Amy Hirshberg Lederman [...], author of "To Life! Jewish Reflections on Everyday Living" and "One God, Many Paths: Finding Meaning and Inspiration in Jewish... more info
Excellent!:
This book is very interesting and I would highly reccomend it to anybody who wants to understand Judaism, along with "The Book of Jewish Belief" by Louis Jacobs.
An Excellent Resource:
Jewish Wisdom is a marvellous resource for anyone who is interested in Judaism. In it, you will find quotations and stories from a wide range of sources, as well as commentary from the author. If you want to know about how an assortment of Jewish luminaries think and feel about a particular ethical, spiritual or historical issue, the chances are that you can find it in Telushin's book. As an author, I sometimes use this book to bolster my own writing projects. In fact, I recently picked out a portion... more info
The anthology is itself an act of kindness:
In one section of this work Rabbi Telushkin asks the question, "What does God want of us?" The primary answer from the sources he cites is that God wants of us ethical behavior, the acting toward others with goodness, kindness and consideration. This is the walking in the way of God, that will bring about 'tikkun olam' or 'improvement of the world'.
I feel that somehow this whole magnificent compendium of Jewish wisdom has behind it this central purpose. And that Rabbi Telushkin in making this... more info
