In the Jewish world, we often hear people cite “Jewish values” as defense for their positions. The irony, however, is that in the same argument, two people will cite text and law from the same book to defend their views. They will both shout to the other that Jewish values are on their side.

The multivocal nature of Jewish ethics is what makes the study of it so difficult, so maddening.

Most books try to pin down Jewish ethics, to find an authentic outlook. They try to explain what Judaism has to say about this controversial issue or that one.

But are next guest, Geoffrey Claussen takes a different approach. Rather than use Judaism to make a point about an individual issue, Claussen wrote a book that looks at the diverse ways that Jews have done ethics over time. Introducing us to the most important voices from antiquity to today, Jewish Ethics: The Basics shows just how diverse the pursuit of the ethics has been. Rather than take sides, the book situates us within debates, giving readers a chance to make up their own minds about many of our thorniest ethical conundrums.

Geoffrey D. Claussen is Lori and Eric Sklut Professor in Jewish Studies, Professor of Religious Studies, and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Elon University, USA.

Rabbi Marc Katz is the Senior Rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, NJ. He is most recently the author of Yochanan’s Gamble: Judaism’s Pragmatic Approach to Life (JPS)

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