The book of Jewish values: a day-by-day guide to ethical living

On Hearing a Siren

"Let Your Fellow's Money Be as Precious to You as Your Own"

The Purchase That Is Always Forbidden

"What Would God Want Me to Do?"

Be Generous Even When Your Instincts Are Lazy

When You're Tempted to Cheat

Shabbat

Give Cheerfully

When a Person Says "I'm Hungry"

Don't Play Favorites

Don't Make Your Family Afraid of You

Support Political Asylum

Bless Your Children

Don't Waste Time

"Stay Away from a Bad Neighbor"

The First Trait to Look for in a Spouse

"Love Your Wife as Yourself"

Respect Your In-Laws

Don't Speak Unless You Have Something to Say

If You Have a Bad Temper

Find Excuses for Behavior That Seems Unkind

"Judge the Whole of a Person Favorably"

Return Lost Objects

"As Long as the Candle Is Burning..."

Don't "Steal" Another Person's Mind

Who Is Wise?

The Special Obligation to Visit and Help People, Particularly Poor People, Who Are Sick

Visiting the Sick: Seven Suggestions

A Gynecologist from New Jersey, a Lawyer from Brooklyn

Sharing Helpful News

Is a Jew Permitted to Smoke?

When Not Giving Charity Is the Highest Charity

Give Money When Times Are Hard

Acting Cheerfully Is Not a Choice

One Must Always Greet Another Person

Should a Recovering Alcoholic Drink Wine on Shabbat and at the Seder?

The Jewish Ethics of Speech: What Is Lashon Hara?

Don't Pass on Negative Comments

The Sin That No One Ever Acknowledges Committing

When Confrontation Is Desirable

"You Shall Not Ill-Treat Any ... Orphan"

Why Refraining from Gossiping Is an Important Challenge

Tzedaka Is More Than Charity

Fight Fairly

A Day Without Rumors; How About a Week?

When Is It Appropriate to Pass On a Rumor?

Some Thoughts for a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah

Learning from the Bad to Do Good

Love the Stranger

The Torah on the Blind and the Deaf

Standing Up for Justice

Don't Buy Products Produced by Exploited Workers

Everybody Deserves a "Tenk You"

The Need for Moral Imagination

"One Who Learns from His Companion a Single Chapter"

Cite Your Sources

Who Is Rich?

Enjoy, Enjoy

"Keep Far Away from Falsehood"

"What Good Thing Happened to Me This Week?"

When, If Ever, Is It Permitted to Lie? (1): When Life Is at Stake

When, If Ever, is It Permitted to Lie? (2): Judaism and White Lies

When, If Ever, Is It Permitted to Lie? (3): Lies Told for Reasons of Humility, Privacy, and Not to Harm Another

Declaring a "Complaining Fast"

The Most Unusual of Blessings

Treating People Who Are Retarded with Respect

Don't Charge Interest

Help Someone Laugh

For Whom Was I Named?

A Lifesaving Bribe

The Little Indecencies That Reveal Character

"The Most Beautiful Etrog I Have Ever Seen"

"Do Not Stand by While Your Neighbor's Blood Is Shed": The Requirement to Intervene

When You Suspect Child Abuse

Untamed Anger and the Death Of Love

Be Fair to Your Enemy

Don't Make People Tell You Lies

"He Who Saves a Single Life It Is as If He Saved an Entire World"

Spend a Week Following Your Heart

Don't Make Unrealistic Demands of People

A Jewish View of Hunting

Feed Your Animals Before Yourself

Don't Spread Negative, but Irrelevant, Information About Someone You Dislike

Don't Humiliate an Enemy

Pray for Someone Else Today

Raising Your Child to Be a Mensch

The Questions All Parents Should Ask Themselves

"Just as Theft of Money Is Theft, So Is Theft of Time"

What It Means to Sanctify God's Name

The Special Obligation of Religous Jews to Sanctify God's Name

Shabbat

When Is the Best Time to Repent?

Acknowledge Your Sin and Accept Responsibility

Ask for Forgiveness Even When You're Not Fully in the Wrong

Tipping Even Those Whose Faces You Don't See

What If You Could Read Your Obituary Today?

The Infinite Ways of Doing Good

"You Shall Not Place a Stumbling Block"

The Nameless Person Behind the Counter

Acts of Kindness (1): Looking Backward

Acts of Kindness (2): Looking Ahead

Acts of Kindness (3): Looking Ahead

The Least Time to Spare, the Most Time to Give

God's Four Questions

Do You Scream When You Should?

Paying a Laborer's Wages Promptly

What a Worker Owes His Employer

What We Owe Our Siblings

Anger: Three Thoughts Before You Explode

What Does It Mean to Honor and Revere Your Parents?

What You Don't Owe Your Parents

Escort Your Guests

Two Pieces of Paper

Read and Listen to Points of View with Which You Disagree

It's Not Only What You Do for Your Parents That Counts

It's Your Attitude

"Educate a Child According to His Way"

Don't Threaten Your Children with Physical Punishment

Enter a Mourner's Home with Silence

"Don't Take My Grief from Me"

"You Shall Not Carry God's Name in Vain": An Unforgivable Sin

When It's Good to Be a Fool

Helping Non-Jews

Schedule Kindness into Your Day

Don't Be a Pious Fool

Don't Serve Liquor with an Overly Generous Hand

True Hospitality: Did You Ask Your Wife?

Don't Embarrass Your Guest, Don't Embarrass Your Children

When You Suspect Spousal Abuse

An Abused Spouse: How You Can Help

Maimonides' Advice: How to Change Negative Behavior

The Unending Obligation to Be Kind

"What's Hateful Unto You..."

Not Everything That Is Thought Should Be Said

A Day of Kind Deeds

An Expensive Technique for Overcoming Anger

When You're Angry at Your Spouse: Putting Things into Perspective

Treating Your Employees with Respect

Abraham, the Model of Hospitality

There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

How Fear of God Can Make You a Better Person (1)

How Fear of God Can Make You a Better Person (2)

Express Gratitude to Your Parents

When Your Mate and Your Parents Are in Conflict

"From a Child Is Beautiful, Anything"

"This Is the Most Delicious Muffin I Have Ever Tasted"

When You Hear That Someone's Taking a Long Trip, Make Sure They Take Along Some Extra Money

Steady Giving

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: What the Torah Says

Can Veal Be Kosher?

Should a Jew Wear Fur?

When Giving Enough Is Not Enough

What Does the Sick Person Need?

Should a Doctor or a Close Family Member Tell the Truth to a Person Who Is Dying?

Is Your Work Sacred?

Is Abortion Murder? Should a Woman's Right to Abortion Be Absolute?

Should a Woman Have the Right to Do What She Wants with Her Body?

Rabbi Aryeh Levine and the Mitzvah to Visit the Sick

Help Someone to Find a Spouse, Help Someone to Find Work

Do Good...Now

Teach Your Child Torah

Teach Your Child the Value of Human Life

A Pragmatic Reason for Forgiving Others

Charity Is Not Enough

Find Work for the Developmentally Disabled

An Employer Must Know How His Employees Live

Confession and Your Neighbor's Soul

How Can One Repent Who Has Committed the Ultimate and Unforgivable Sin?

When a Jew Acts Dishonestly Toward a Non-Jew

One Boss in a Million

Have You Written an Ethical Will?

Three Traits That Reveal Your Character

"Until the Day of One's Death"

When the Old Become Frail

Beyond the Letter of the Law

Consult with Your Spouse, Consult with Your Friends

"The Dust of Forbidden Speech"

A Twenty-Four-Hour Experiment

Don't Bear a Grudge

Picking Up Sumbling Blocks

The Limits of Self-Sacrifice

"Go and Gather the Feathers"

Make Sure You Have a Friend Who Can Criticize You

Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, and the Need for a New Kind of Hero

Start Your Day with Gratitude

If You Have a Tendency to Complain About Others

Respect Your Family's Privacy

"What Does a Good Guest Say?"

Question to Ask Yourself Before You Criticize Another

Knowing When to Step Aside

When You've Judged Another Unfairly

"Therefore Was Man Created Singly"

"If Someone Wishes to Kill You, Get Up Early and Kill Him First"

Be Conscious of the Goodness and Sweetness in Others

The Good That You Do Lives On

When It's Right to Be Early

"His Mercy Is Upon All His Works"

Be Kind to Your Enemy's Animal

"Seek Peace and Pursue It"

On Loving Yourself

"There Is No Messenger in a Case of Sin"

The Power of Goodness

Teach Your Child a Profession

Teach Your Child That What Matters Most to God Is Goodness

Don't Give Away Too Much

Can a Religious Person Be Cruel?

The Antidote to Arrogance

Don't Pretend to Virtues You Don't Have

"Love Your Neighbor": What Is the Neighbor's Responsibility?

"Honor Your Father and Mother": The Surprising Wording of the Biblical Commandment

If Parents Become Senile

How to Learn Empathy

Don't Snap at Your Spouse

Are You in an Abusive Relationship?

Don't Be an Elitist

Don't Encourage Your Children to Date Wealthy People

The Painful, Challenging, Question Parents Must Ask Children

Marriage Is Also Supposed to Be Fun

Rabbenu Gershom and the Prohibition Against Being a Snoop

Be Generous with Power

When Silence Is Golden

Learn Even from Those with Whom You Disagree

Revenge and the Command to Love Your Neighbor

Who Is a Hero? A Jewish Perspective

Accidents Do Happen

When an Accident Is No Accident

Don't Be a Mitzvah Hero at Someone Else's Expense

Speak Truth to Power

Just How Much Are You Supposed to Fear God?

Don't Mouth Pious Platitudes

Do a Favor...for Your Enemy

Maimonides, Art Buchwald, and the Importance of Every Deed

When You Have Been Sinned Against: Your Obligation

A Nightly Prayer Before Going to Sleep

Don't Let Your Child Humiliate Another Child

What the Fifth Commandment Demands of Parents

Make Your Celebration a Cause for Everyone to Celebrate

On Not Embarrassing the Recipient

Is There Someone You're Ignoring Whom You Should Ask for Forgiveness?

Don't Forgive on Other People's Behalf

The Punishment of One Who Humiliates Another

When You Can't Give Money