Rabbi Joseph Telushkin - A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

A s I have noted before, one of the great pleasures of completing a book is having the opportunity to publicly thank those who have helped me. In the writing of A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself I was once again blessed by generous and wise friends, many of whom read and critiqued the manuscript in its entirety (or almost), and offered me much helpful advice. Having had the opportunity to thank many of these people in the first volume of this code, I wish to acknowledge them yet again.

Dr. Isaac Herschkopf a psychiatrist, faculty member of the NYU School of Medicine, author of Hello Darkness, My Old Friend, an important study of anger, and a beloved friend, read through the entire manuscript twice, repeatedly offering me insights, illustrative anecdotes, and periodic challenges that forced me to refine my own thinking. Just how significant Ike's influence on this book has been can be confirmed by consulting his name in the index.

As he has done now for two preceding books, Rabbi Israel Stein (or Izzy, as he is universally known) checked every biblical, talmudic, and post-talmudic reference in this book, about a thousand references in total. He corrected a number of errors that crept in, noted some other sources that I overlooked, and offered other suggestions as well (see, for example, page 223). Rabbi Stein's effort was extraordinary, and his friendship a gift. I cannot overstate my gratitude.

My dear friend Rabbi Irwin Kula read through the entire manuscript in a three-week period, a remarkable effort given his own exceedingly busy schedule as president of CLAL (along with Rabbi Brad Hirschfeld), and the recent publication of his widely hailed Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life. A person dominated by equal doses of intelligence and passion, Irwin marked up my pages with long, well-argued, and often alternative understandings of Jewish teachings (see, for example, pages 157-158). I am deeply grateful for his effort.

As is the case with Irwin, Daniel Taub has read almost everything I have written. A friend now for more than twenty-five years, Daniel is a man with enormous reservoirs of both Jewish and secular knowledge, and along with that, a wonderful stylist. I am grateful that under great time constraints, he read so much of the manuscript and, as always, many of his suggestions have been incorporated into the text (see, for example, page 428).

My friend Rabbi Dr. Michael Berger of Emory University has helped me for more than fifteen years with careful readings of my books-in-progress. A scholar of wide-ranging knowledge, particularly of the Bible, and of rabbinic and medieval Jewish literature and thought, he has made many important suggestions that have been incorporated into the text, while conveying instances in which he thought my analyses of certain sources were overstated.

This is the tenth book that David Szonyi has worked on with me. His editing makes my style clearer, his Jewish knowledge is broad, and I am very thankful for David's help. As I have often said in the past, any writer is blessed to have David Szonyi as a freelance editor.

A particularly special thanks goes to Toinette Lippe, my editor at Bell Tower, and a woman who has worked closely with me on this code (and on three other books as well) since the idea for it first evolved. Toinette's belief in this project has been profoundly moving to me, and her editing superb. I actually look forward to getting marked-up manuscripts back from her, and how many writers can say that?

Richard Pine of InkWell Management has represented me as a literary agent for more than twenty-five years. One of the most decent and insightful people I know, Richard is, in addition, a man of extraordinary loyalty. He also has the ability to encourage a writer when he needs encouragement, a talent that has often blessed me.

More than in any of my previous books, I consulted a variety of friends on individual chapters and in areas in which they have expertise, both intellectual and personal. On the subject of charity, Beverly Woznica, who holds a major position with the UJC (United Jewish Communities), offered me wonderful insights, particularly on the ethics of fund-raising, and on why solicitors for charitable organizations should feel no self-consciousness when seeking contributions (see, for example, page 222). One of the chapter's early readers, Robert Mass, a passionate student of Jewish texts and ethics, a former law review editor, and a highly accomplished lawyer, greatly helped organize what turned out to be the book's longest, and in some ways, most complicated chapter in a manner that made Judaism's manifold teachings on this subject very accessible. I am grateful as well to my friend Sam Sutton, who has among the most generous hearts of anyone I know (see pages 181182). Sam, the former president of Sephardic Bikur Holim, also offered me good guidance on the subject of visiting the sick.

On that same subject, I profited greatly from suggestions by Jonathan and Barbara Greenwald (see, for example, pages 81-82) and Donna Gilbert (see page 79), whose experiences either with illness themselves or with helping the ill repeatedly enriched the chapter's content. Rabbi David Woznica shared with me insights on this subject, as well as on comforting mourners and on loving one's neighbor, help for which I am profoundly grateful (see, for example, pages 68n and 312).

Terry Wohlberg, who helped found the Chevra Kadisha (see chapter 8) at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, is the one who first suggestedand I am embarrassed to say that I might not have thought to do so on my ownthat I include the section Final Kindness, which delineates Judaism's teachings on how to prepare the dead for burial. The section also profited from her careful reading (see page 106). David Zinner of Kavod V'Nichum, a man of comprehensive knowledge on this subject, offered me many suggestions (see, for example, page 109) on a subject I had never before adequately studied or properly appreciated.