“Jewish thinkers don’t talk all that much about love. All too often we leave that to Christian theologians. But in this excellent volume, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin puts the commandment to love at the center of Jewish theology and experience. This is a book that will change the way you think about–and practice–Judaism.” –Professor Ari L. Goldman, Columbia University, and author of The Search for God at Harvard “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the best-known commandment in the Bible. Yet we rarely hear anyone talk about how to apply these words in daily life. In this landmark work, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, one of the premier scholars and thinkers of our time, gives both Jews and non-Jews an extraordinary summation of what Jewish tradition teaches about putting these words into practice. Writing with great clarity and simplicity as well as with deep wisdom, Telushkin covers topics such as love and kindness, hospitality, visiting the sick, comforting mourners, charity, relations between Jews and non-Jews, compassion for animals, tolerance, self-defense, and end-of-life issues. This second volume of the first major code of Jewish ethics written in the English language is breathtaking in its scope and will undoubtedly influence readers for generations to come. It offers hundreds of practical examples from the Torah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and both ancient and modern rabbinic commentaries–as well as contemporary anecdotes–all teaching us how to care for one another each and every day. A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself is a consummate work of scholarship. Like its acclaimed predecessor, which received the National Jewish Book Award, it is rich with ideas to contemplate and discuss, while being primarily a book to live by. Nothing could be more important in these strife-torn times than learning how to love our neighbors as ourselves. The message of this book is as vital and timely now as it has been since time immemorial.

The impressive advances in medical technology in the last half-century have helped to save thousands of lives that would have been lost due to organ failures. However, the use of this technology in clinically irreversible settings can result in the undue delay of the death process. Throughout its chapters, this book highlights the various facets of the controversial ethical dilemma of the end of life. It provides a historical background to this discussion, its philosophical underpinnings, and the perspectives of various religions on this journey along treatment obstinacy. The book helps the reader to see and understand this problem from a holistic perspective, and to apprehend other major questions about life and death. It is a book to be read by all those who are concerned with death in modern societies and particularly with medical ethics and professional conduct.

The first state-of-the-art, comprehensive resource to encompass the wide breadth of the rapidly growing field of Judaism and health. "For Jews, religion and medicine (and science) are not inherently in conflict, even within the Torah-observant community, but rather can be friendly partners in the pursuit of wholesome ends, such as truth, healing and the advancement of humankind." —from the Introduction This authoritative volume—part professional handbook, part scholarly resource and part source of practical information for laypeople—melds the seemingly disparate elements of Judaism and health into a truly multidisciplinary collective, enhancing the work within each area and creating new possibilities for synergy across disciplines. It is ideal for medical and healthcare providers, rabbis, educators, academic scholars, healthcare researchers and caregivers, congregational leaders and laypeople with an interest in the most recent and most exciting developments in this new, important field. CONTRIBUTORS: Rabbi Rachel Adler, PhD • Rabbi Richard Address, DMin • Ronald M. Andiman, MD • Barbara Breitman, DMin • Rabbi Anne Brener, LCSW • Shelly Thomas Christensen, MA • Rabbi William Cutter, PhD • Rabbi Stephanie Dickstein, LMSW • Rabbi Nancy Epstein, MPH, MAHL • Elizabeth Feldman, MD • Rabbi Naomi Kalish, BCC • Rabbi Lynne F. Landsberg • Jeff Levin, PhD, MPH • Judith Margolis, MFA • Adina Newberg, PhD • Kenneth I. Pargament, PhD • David Pelcovitz, PhD • Steven Pirutinsky, MS • Michele F. Prince, LCSW, MAJCS • Rabbi Stephen B. Roberts, MBA, BCC • David H. Rosmarin, PhD • Fred Rosner, MD, MACP • Rabbi Julie Schwartz • Devora Greer Shabtai • Rabbi Mychal B. Springer • Rabbi Shira Stern, DMin, BCC • Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD • Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, MD • Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW • Rabbi Nancy Wiener, DMin

The spiritual tools you can use to infuse Jewish life cycle ceremonies with meaning, integrity and joy. Discover the spiritual meaning in Judaism’s major life cycle moments. Understand, create and enter wholeheartedly into Jewish life cycle ceremonies, preparatory practice, and celebrations. More than just how-to, Rabbi Goldie Milgram guides you in making your Jewish rites come alive with meaning, beauty and with lasting impact on you, your friends and family. She takes you beyond rote rites—beyond just surviving—and directly into accessing Jewish rites of passage as a force for thriving. With careful attention to both traditional and emerging practices across the full spectrum of Jewish life, Rabbi Milgram examines: Jewish Weddings, Traditional and Inclusive Rites Welcoming a New Baby and Raising a Healthy Jewish Child Meaningful, Memorable Adolescent and Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ritual Support for Many Stages of Adulthood Jewish Rituals for When Relationships End Jewish Approaches to Dying, Death, Burial, Mourning and Remembering

Though the current political climate might lead one to suspect that religion and medicine make for uncomfortable bedfellows, the two institutions have a long history of alliance. From religious healers and religious hospitals to religiously informed bioethics and research studies on the impact of religious and spiritual beliefs on physical and mental well-being, religion and medicine have encountered one another from antiquity through the present day. In Religion and Medicine, Dr. Jeff Levin outlines this longstanding history and the multifaceted interconnections between these two institutions. The first book to cover the full breadth of this subject, it documents religion-medicine alliances across religious traditions, throughout the world, and over the course of history. Levin summarizes a wide range of material in the most comprehensive introduction to this emerging field of scholarship to date.

"Cultural Issues in End-of-Life Decision Making creates an engrossing tension as chapters on philosophical topics are interwoven with clinically-oriented ones including case examples that ground the reader in the reality of most human decisions. I highly recommend this book to researchers, health care providers, clergy, and other practitioners dealing with end-of-life issues." ---Catherine Hagan Hennessy, Health Care and Aging Studies Branch, Center for Disease Control and Prevention End-of-life decision making is one of the most difficult but crucial challenges faced by patients and their families. In most cases, resources or counselors providing guidance in these decisions are not available. This book is intended to prepare nurses, physicians, and other health care workers to fill this role, insofar as they are most frequently in contact with the patient and his/her family and significant others at the time choices must be made. In this informative, practical book, Braun, Pietsch, and Blanchette first review the medical, legal, and ethical context of the dying experience, discussing ethnic perspectives and religious issues. For example, providing cultural and spiritually sensitive care requires that nurses, physicians, social work and others know and understand the implications of family members beliefs about life and death, supportive rituals and other activities. This book does a creditable job of presenting the issues and a broad overview of culture and common religions in America. About the Editors: Kathryn L. Braun, Dr.P.H., is Director of the University of Hawaii Center on Aging and an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii School of Public Health. She is a Fellow in the Gerontological Society of American and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. James H. Pietsch, J.D., is Director of the University of Hawaii Elder Law Program (UHELP), an Associate Professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law, and a Clinical Adjunct Professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. In 1990, he was the recipient of the Fifth Annual Paul Lichterman Memorial Award for contributions to the advancement of Law and Aging. Patricia L. Blanchette, M.D., M.P.H., is a Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and School of Public Health at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr. Blanchette is the Director of the Medical School′s cross-departmental Geriatric Medicine Program, and Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program, the Pacific Islands Geriatric Education Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Blanchette has won numerous awards and honors, including an Excellence in Teaching Award, Distinguished Alumni, Best Doctors in America, and the Soroptimist′s Women of Distinction Award.