Customer Reviews

The Jewish Moral Virtues

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For all of the popular talk about "virtues" and character, the Jewish community has essentially gone without a modern, scholarly, accessible and thorough treatment about the content of the "Jewish" character . . . until now. World-renowned professor Eugene Borowitz and his co-author (and former student) Frances Weinman Schwartz have brought us an updated and refreshing take on a little-known 13th century ethical text, "Sefer Maalot Hamidot." The authors have taken the original list of "Jewish virtues" and reconfigured it for the 21st century Jew. Bringing together sources -- primarily, but not exclusively Jewish sources -- the authors create a rich tapestry that will long adorn the walls of Jewish ethical literature. The book contains thousands of quotes, verses, stories, and insights -- gleaned from the time of the Torah until today -- to explain how Jewish tradition treats various personal virtues, such as generosity, loving-kindness, pure-heartedness, and love of God, to name a few. This is partly a how-to guide for daily improvement of our lives, but it is much more. It is also a beatifully written, wonderfully researched anthology that synthesizes an entire people's ethical tradition and makes it relevant and compelling for the modern reader. "The Jewish Moral Virtues" is an essential part of everyone's library; a must read. 5 Star + rating. Available now through Amazon.com.

This is an unbelievably comprehensive book of jewish morals and virtues taken from an exremely wide range of Jewish sources. What is most amazing is the way it is written -- conversational, modern and applicable to life today while still being true to ancient sources and texts. This is a must read and a must have for every Jewish home. It is one of Borowitz's best and a nice maiden voyage for new author Frances Weinman Schwartz, whom we hope to hear more from.

A nice general guide to Jewish values, though sometimes a little too general to hold my interest (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5). I recommend reading this along with (and preferably before) Telushkin's Book of Jewish Values- this book gives you the forest of general concepts, Telushkin gives you the trees (by applying these concepts to the specific details of every day life).

A friend of mine was reading this book as part of a Jewish adult education group and suggested it; it's pretty good, especially with ethics being all the talk these days.