The Book of Jewish Values (20)

Title: The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-By-Day Guide to Ethical Living
Author: Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Genre: Judaism

I read this book over the course of a year. Give or take a few missed and a few catch up days I read one value each day. This book has had such a large impact on my behavior in lots and lots of ways. One of the most obvious ways is the way I deal with panhandlers and homeless people I encounter. If someone asks me for a dollar and I have a dollar I will now give it to them and I will look them in the eye and tell them to have a nice day. If I don’t have a dollar I’ll offer to buy them some food. The chance that the person might just be scamming me is not nearly reason enough to deny someone (and myself) an act of compassion.

That’s just one example, there are countless others. Seriously, I can’t overstate how much this book impacted me. And I learned a lot of Talmudic information from it as well so win-win.