A Guide to Jewish Practice: Everyday Living

Rabbi David Teutsch is Director of the Levin-Lieber Program in Jewish Ethics and the Louis & Myra Wiener Professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he previously served as President for a decade.   An avid bicyclist, he participated in the 2007 Hazon Israel ride, did a 2300 mile solo ride across the United States in summer 2008, and has done the New York Hazon ride for the last several years. He is also a well-known lecturer, consultant and trainer, and is a past president of the Society of Jewish Ethics and of the Academic Coalition for Jewish Bioethics.  A past member of the Conference of Presidents, he has served on the boards of over a dozen other organizations, including schools, synagogues, and magazines.   An honors graduate of Harvard University ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, he earned his Ph.D. at the Wharton School, where his dissertation dealt with organizational ethics. Hazon is honored to include Rabbi Dr. Teutsch among it’s board of directors.

In 2011 he published the first volume (devoted to everyday living) of A Guide to Jewish Practice, which takes a values-based approach to both ethical and ritual matters. In January 2012, it was honored with a prestigious award from the Jewish Book Council. It is the most comprehensive work of its kind ever published outside the Orthodox world; it collects and explores seven decades of outstanding scholarship in Reconstructionist Judaism. As Rabbi David Teutsch describes it himself, “We all hit that moment when we wonder, ‘How do I move forward in a way that reflects who I am and what I care about? ‘I hope the Guide can help contemporary Jews to keep creating new solutions.”

Religious leaders across the denominational spectrum have spoken quite highly of his work. Rabbi David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion says, “Everyday Living: A Guide to Jewish Practice will be an indispensable addition to the library of all who seek individual and communal guidance and insight from the sources of Jewish tradition in virtually every area of life.”

And Ruth W. Messinger, president of the American Jewish World Service, declares, “This comprehensive guide helps us identify our values, organize our lives accordingly and live as ethical people in a challenging world.”

To purchase a copy of Rabbi David Teutsch’s award winning book, please follow this link.

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