"The number and magnitude of the ethics failures reported on a nearly daily basis in newspapers and on blogs are seemingly unprecedented. The "castle is on fire," to borrow a rabbinic metaphor, and each one of us is faced with the question: Is there anything we can do about it? In this book, Moses Pava explores new and alternative ways of relating to Jewish texts and concepts. In doing so, he invents a nuanced, flexible, and sufficiently sensitive vocabulary to conduct productive ethical dialogues, both within and between communities"--

"This book is built upon the assumption that Jewish ethics and Jewish literacy are more necessary now than ever before in Jewish history. There is a paradox here, however. The tighter we hold onto the inherited tradition, the less valuable it becomes as a tool to help us lead ethical and meaningful lives, in community, in real time. The primary insight of this book is that we must not kill tradition by embracing it too tightly, nor must we jettison it by trying to forget it altogether. We must ease up on our grip without letting go of the reins, if we are to proceed forward. This book is most centrally about learning new and more complex ways of relating to an inherited ethical tradition grounded in religion"--