Love Your Neighbor and Yourself: A Jewish Approach to Modern Personal Ethics (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "ALL THE OTHER CHAPTERS OF THIS BOOK ADDRESS A NUMBER of concrete moral questions of personal ethics..." (more)
Key Phrases: penitential communication, day school tuition, rabbinic letter, United States, Holy One, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this, his third book on modern ethics, Elliot Dorff focuses on personal ethics, Judaism’s distinctive way of understanding human nature, our role in life, and what we should strive to be, both as individuals and as members of a community.

Dorff presents dilemmas and challenges confronting the individual in relation to others. He addresses specific moral issues that affect our personal lives: privacy, particularly at work and as it is affected by the Internet and other modern technologies; sex in and outside of marriage; family matters, such as adoption, surrogate motherhood, stepfamilies, divorce, parenting, and family violence; homosexuality; justice, mercy, and forgiveness; and charitable acts and social action.

From the Publisher

A leading ethicist suggests ways to take the moral high road in one's personal life.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society of America (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827607598
• ISBN-13: 978-0827607590
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,549,915 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seminal work on Jewish ethics, January 2, 2005

By	Richard Silverstein "richards1052" (Seattle) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have to admit here that I know Rabbi Dorff personally though not well. He's also helped me with a blog post I wrote about Jewish attitudes toward child abuse. In preparing this post, I carefully read the entire chapter in this book on the subject. It is simply remarkable, full of deep empathy for victims and understanding of the dark impulses in human nature that cause this phenomenon.

Rabbi Dorff's views on homosexuality within the Jewish tradition are also equally progressive. He is a breath of fresh air compared to the hidebound views of some of his rabbinic colleagues in the Conservative movement.

If you have interest in the subject of Jewish ethics, this is a book you should read & read carefully.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A serious work wrestling with diverse complex issues, November 17, 2003

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Love Your Neighbor And Yourself: A Jewish Approach To Modern Personal Ethics, by Conservative Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff which surveys both Jewish tradition and modern schools of Judaic thought to suggest ways in which to positively address moral challenges. A serious work wrestling with diverse complex issues, and stressing the importance of striving to accept and yet rise above the base impulses of human nature, Love Your Neighbor And Yourself is a welcome addition to Judaic Studies as being a compendium of thoughtful and thought-provoking reading on the subject of personal ethics in the contemporary world.