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

Joseph Telushkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1994

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Rabbi Telushkin provides a lively companion volume to his popular Jewish Literacy (Morrow, 1991) in this collection of hundreds of influential quotations taken from the Jewish religious and secular canon dating from the Talmud to Isaac Singer and Amos Oz. Organized by theme-from prayer and the essence of Judaism to wealth, old age, and suffering-and accompanied by Telushkin's clear and insightful comments, the mostly brief quotations give an excellent overview of the ideas and texts "that have shaped Judaism's and the Jewish people's responses to the key issues in their lives and in their history." While Joseph Baron's Treasury of Jewish Quotations (Jason Aaronson, 1985), with its vast collection of 18,000 quotations, remains a better reference resource, this book makes a valuable and informative browsing item for both adults and young adults. Highly recommended.
Marcia Welsh, Guilford Free Lib., Ct.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Organized by subject, this is a collection of teachings and quotations from the Talmud, the Bible, rabbinical commentaries, and ancient and modern religious and secular writings. Writers include Elie Wiesel, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Hebrew poet Hayim Bialik, Cynthia Ozick, Emile Zola, Albert Einstein, Bruno Bettelheim, Gertrude Stein, Irving Howe, and Maimonides. In commentary that explains why these teachings remain meaningful to Jews today, Rabbi Telushkin addresses such issues as relationships between people; individuals and their quest for meaning; what God wants from us; the modern Jewish experience; and Jewish values as they confront the Holocaust, Zionism, and Israel. Telushkin's commentaries are especially helpful because of the myriad quotations from the Talmud. There are also anti-Semitic quotations from Pharaoh and Haman (the first two recorded anti-Semites), from Voltaire, Hitler, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, H. L. Mencken, Gen. Ulysses Grant, Henry Ford, Charles Lindberg, and Louis Farrakhan, to name a few. But there is much wisdom here. Jews--and even non-Jews--will find the book a treasure. George Cohen

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (October 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688129587
• ISBN-13: 978-0688129583
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, spiritual leader and scholar, is the acclaimed author of nine other nonfiction books, including The Book of Jewish Values, The Golden Land: The Story of Jewish Immigration to America, and Jewish Literacy, the most widely read book on Judaism of the past two decades. He is a senior associate of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, serves on the board of the Jewish Book Council, and is the rabbi of the Los Angeles-based Synagogue for the Performing Arts. He lives with his family in New York City and lectures regularly throughout the United States.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wisdom for all of us..., July 10, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers (Hardcover)

Like many of my most valued books, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's `Jewish Wisdom' arrived by accident, not through deliberate choice, but rather as a result of my having missed the reply deadline for one of my book clubs.

The full title of the book gives a greater sense of the scope of this 650+ page book: `Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers'. This statement in the subtitle comes very close to an encapsulation of the Jewish faith for me -- it is an ethical way of life; it is a spiritual way of life; it is a way of life with high regard for history; it is a way of life with high regard to teaching and learning; it is a way of life that has accomplished great works and produced great thinkers. All of these things benefit the whole of humankind. `Two thousand years ago, when a non-Jew asked Hillel, the leading rabbi of his age, to define Judaism's essence, the sage could have responded with a long oration on Jewish thought and law, and an insistence that it would be blasphemous to reduce so profound a system to a brief essence. Indeed, his contemporary, Shammai, furiously drove away the questioner with a builder's rod. Hillel, however, responded to the man's challenge: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour: this is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary; now go and study" -- a model statement that has defined Judaism's essence ever since. As Hillel knew, the right words at the right time can inspire people for generations.'

Rabbi Telushkin has written or edited literally hundreds of books, and many of them consist of collections of writings or quotations. One of the things that sets this apart from other books of quotations and writings, both Jewish and non-Jewish, is the running commentary that speaks to the importance in the ongoing development of Jewish life and faith of the writings presented here. Indeed, some quotations appear more than once, because they have a relevance to more than one topic.

Rabbi Telushkin concludes with a fifteen-page bibliography, which reads as a 'best of' list of Jewish literature (and is a frequently-addressed reference source for me when looking up Jewish information of almost any field). At the front of this bibliography, he starts by listing the top-ten collections of Jewish quotes and texts -- what other book of quotations references even one, much less ten, other such collections?

A truly inspiring book, a wonderful reference, a thoughtful and insightful collection -- this book will not gather dust on the shelf. For those who are not Jewish, this book contains the key to following Hillel's instruction to 'go and study'. For those who are Jewish, this will serve as a solid addition to the library of essential facts and useful opinions and impressions from culture and history.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate resource of Jewish Wisdom, January 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Detroit) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers (Hardcover)

This book is an incredible resource for those who are interested in hearing different oppinons on issues concernibg Judaism today. I cannot put the book down. From the Holocaust, to Kashrut, all the way to Inter-Marriage, and back to the Covanent... This book is amazing.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Anecdotes And Commentary, June 12, 2000

By 

Anthony Smith (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers (Hardcover)

This book contains many excellent anecdotes and commentary from some of the greatest Jewish thinkers of all time. Topics covered in this book range from the Holocaust, to anti-Semitism, to Philo-Semitism, to modern issues like abortion. The book is excellently written and is a must-have in any Jewish library. It allows the reader to understand a complex and fascinating religion through wonderfully told stories and commentary.