The Ten Commandments of Character

Here is a wealth of astute and warmhearted counsel on many of life’s most difficult ethical dilemmas. Joseph Telushkin outlines his ten commandments of character, explaining why each one is so vital, and then addresses perplexing issues that can and often do crop up in our lives relating to family, friends, work, community, medical ethics, and money, such as:

• How honest should you be when you are asked to give a reference?
• How much assistance should you give your son with his college application essay?
• Is it wrong to receive a kidney from an executed prisoner in China?
• What should you do if your father begs you to end his life rather than allow him to descend into the hell of Alzheimer’s?
• Should a brother give up part of his inheritance if his sister has children and considerable expenses and he doesn’t?
• Should a dying woman reveal to her husband that their son is not really his?

Many of us are finding it increasingly hard to tread the fine line between right and wrong. In The Ten Commandments of Character, Telushkin faces these issues squarely and shows us how to live a life of true integrity.

“At a time when so many people are looking for moral guidance, we are lucky to have Joseph Telushkin as our guide and teacher. I am thoroughly impressed by his wisdom and good sense.”—Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

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.