The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living

The Book of Jewish Values requires great commitment from its reader, and it promises great reward. "[F]or ethical teachings to carve a way into our hearts, we must study and practice them ... day after day after day," explains Rabbi Joseph Telushkin in the book's introduction. The book is structured as a daily guide to living, with scriptural lessons, meditations, and exercises covering topics ranging from "the first trait to look for in a spouse (Day 17)" to "how to change negative patterns of behavior (Day 150)." At the end of each week, Rabbi Telushkin provides a special Sabbath review of the prior six days' teachings, to ensure continuity among the book's many lessons. This simple, straightforward approach to religious and ethical teaching is an ancient and proven one. As Rabbi Telushkin points out, great teachers through the ages have always said that diligence is the beginning of virtue. (Consider, for instance, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav: "If you are not going to be better tomorrow than you were today, then what need have you for tomorrow?") --Michael Joseph Gross