The Book of Jewish Values

by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

In the hit HBO series, "Game of Thrones," the Stark family of the north repeatedly says, "Winter is coming!"

When Elul rolls around, we Jews say, "Yom Kippur is coming!"

Every year I reach the end of the High Holy Days inspired to do more -- study more, come to more services, observe more rituals more often -- and be more -- kinder, more charitable, more aware and more grateful.

Yet when Elul comes round again, I'm disappointed in myself. Overwhelmed by the possibilities for improvement, I realize I've defaulted to business as usual on the path of least resistance.

This year, however, I've discovered a book to guide me: Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's The Book of Jewish Values; A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living. The book offers short, readable essays on Jewish values for every day of the year except Shabbats, when Rabbi Telushkin recommends reviewing the previous six days' essays.


It covers a wide range of topics, some more useful than others. One of my favorites is Day 39, "Acting Cheerfully is Not a Choice." Rabbi Telushkin quotes Shammai from the Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 1:15, "Receive all people with a cheerful expression." Moods are contagious, and smiles, Rabbi Teluskin points out, "are a powerful form of nourishment."

A similar lesson, on Day 40, is that "one must always greet another person." Rabbi Telushkin tells a story about musician and composer Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who was being driven to a concert engagement in Pennsylvania.  Rabbi Carlebach apologetically asked his driver if he would mind if Rabbi Carlebach used the long driving time to study Talmud, something he rarely had the opportunity to do in his hectic schedule.

Despite the rabbi's immersion in Talmud, every time the car stopped at a tollbooth, Rabbi Carlebach would close his Talmud, "look up at the tollbooth attendant, smile broadly, wave a greeting and exchange a few words of friendship." His actions transformed the attendants, no matter how ill-tempered or brusque they had been at first.

Although this book was published nearly 20 years ago, many of the essays feel current, such as Day 12, "Support Political Asylum"; Day 57, "Love the Stranger"; or Day 179, "Is Abortion Murder? Should a Woman's Right to Abortion be Absolute?"

Other days offer simple exercises that shift us from impatience to compassion: offering up a prayer when we hear a siren (Day 1); reading and listening to points of view we don't agree with (Day 131); or starting our days with gratitude by reciting the Modeh Ani, the morning prayer that thanks God for returning our souls to us each morning with compassion.

Rabbi Telushkin touches on business ethics, family relations, being better parents and spouses, raising children, and visiting the sick. He also poses many teasing questions that lead us deeper into the teachings of Torah, Talmud and the sages: "When is the Best Time to Repent?" "When, If Ever, Is It Permitted to Lie?" Or "The Purchase That is Always Forbidden."

These daily readings take no more than 10 to 15 minutes but give you a wealth of menschkeit to think about during your day or to feed your dreams at night.

Reviewed by Jeannette Hartman.

About the Author: Rabbi Joseph Telushkin (1948 - )

Joseph Telushkin grew up in Brooklyn and attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush.

There, in the 10th grade, he met his friend and future co-author for two books, Dennis Prager. While at Columbia University, Telushkin and Prager studied Jewish history and wrote Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism and Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism.

Telushkin was ordained at Yeshiva University and now serves as a spiritual leader of the Los Angeles Synagogue for the Performing Arts, which conducts services at the Gindi Auditorium of the American Jewish University in Brentwood.

Rabbi Telushkin is a senior associate of CLAL (the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Book Council and a former director of education at Brandeis-Bardin Institute.

Since 1997, he has been among Newsweek's list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America.

He has written 16 books on Judaism, including a biography of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. One of those works, A Code of Jewish Ethics: You Shall be Holy, Telushkin regards as his major life's work.  It was published in 2006 and followed in 2009 by a second volume, A Code of Jewish Ethics: Love Your Neighbor.

Rabbi Telushkin lectures widely and has been named by Talk Magazine as one of the 50 best speakers in the United States.