Creating an Ethical Jewish Life

A handbook of Jewish ethical values and literature. Life as an art form―an invitation to Jewish ethical living.

“It is the human task to complete God’s unfinished artistic masterpiece―the human person.”
―from the Introduction

The classic texts of Jewish ethical literature―works little-known to most of us―are now readily available for personal study. This one-of-a-kind book brings the genre of Jewish ethical literature from its origins in the ancient and medieval worlds, straight into our 21st-century lives.

An invitation into a history rich with wisdom and guidance, Creating an Ethical Jewish Life offers traditional texts, clear explanations, and ways for us to use them in our lives. Rabbis Sherwin and Cohen highlight a wide variety of classic texts, including the Zohar, The Holy Letter, The Path of the Upright by Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto, Duties of the Heart by Bahya ibn Pakudah, and Nachmanides’ Commentary on the Torah. These timeless texts are combined with the authors’ insightful commentary to address the ultimate human moral issue, the most intimate personal question: How can I best live the life God has entrusted into my care?

With expertise and passion, Sherwin and Cohen show us how these unusual texts not only inform―but can transform our lives.

Explores how to:

Deal with ego • Be wise • Be healthy • Employ wealth • Die • Behave sexually • Believe in God • Thank God • Love God • Study the Torah • Repent • Treat one’s parents • Parent • Speak about another • Be Philanthropic

Dr. Byron L. Sherwin (z"l), a leading scholar in Jewish theology, served for over forty years as professor of Jewish philosophy and mysticism at Chicago's Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. He is the author of twenty-five books and over 150 articles, including In Partnership with God: Contemporary Jewish Law and Ethics; Why Be Good? and Jewish Ethics for the 21st Century. Active in international Jewish communal affairs and interfaith relations, Rabbi Sherwin was the first recipient of the "Man of Reconciliation" award from the Polish Council of Christians and Jews.

Dr. Seymour J. Cohen (z"l) opened up to English readers the previously little-known genre of medieval Jewish ethical literature through his masterful translations of its classics, including The Ways of the Righteous; The Book of the Righteous and The Holy Letter. He was president of the Rabbinical Assembly and the Synagogue Council of America.