CLAL Faculty
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, a Senior CLAL Associate, was
named by Talk Magazine (September, 1999) as one of the 50 best
speakers in the United States, is the author of Jewish Literacy: The Most
Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its
History. The most widely selling book on Judaism of the past two
decades, Jewish Literacy has been hailed by leading figures in all
the major movements of Judaism, and was brought out in a new edition in
2001. In March, 2006, Bell Tower/Crown is publishing the first volume of his
monumental work, A Code of Jewish Ethics: You Shall be Holy, a
comprehensive presentation of Jewish teachings on the vital topic of
personal character and integrity.
Telushkin’s 1997 book, Biblical Literacy: The Most Important People,
Events and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible, was chosen as a selection of the
Book-of-the-Month Club. The Book of Jewish Values: A Day by Day Guide to
Ethical Living was published by Bell Tower/Crown Books in 2000, and was
the subject of a PBS special that aired throughout the United States that
December. His book, The Golden Land, a museum--in-a-book, tells the
story of the Jewish migrations to the United States. In August, 2003, Bell
Tower/Crown Books published The Ten Commandments of Character: Essential
Advice for Living an Honorable, Ethical, Honest Life, and the same
month, Touchstone/Simon and Schuster reissued a revised and expanded version
of Why the Jews: The Reason for Antisemitism, which Telushkin
co-authored with Dennis Prager. In 2004, Toby Press published his novel,
Heaven’s Witness, co-written with Allen Estrin, a murder mystery which
deals with the themes of reincarnation and life after death. He and Mr.
Estrin have recently completed a screenplay of the novel for a TV movie to
air on CBS.
Rabbi Telushkin’s earlier book, Words that Hurt, Words that Heal
became the motivating force behind Senators Joseph Lieberman and Connie
Mack’s 1996 Senate Resolution # 151 to establish a “National Speak No Evil
Day” throughout the United States.
He has also written Jewish Humor: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say About
the Jews. Larry Gelbart, author of Mash and Tootsie said
that “I don’t know if Jews are really the chosen people, but I think Joseph
Telushkin’s book makes a strong argument that we’re the funniest.” Telushkin
is also co-author with Dennis Prager of one of the most influential Jewish
books published in the last thirty years, The Nine Questions People Ask
About Judaism, hailed by Herman Wouk as “the intelligent skeptic’s guide
to Judaism.” In 1997, his novel, An Eye for an Eye, became the basis
for four episodes of David Kelley’s Emmy Award-winning ABC TV series, The
Practice, and he has co-written three additional episodes of the program. He
also co-wrote an episode of the TV series, Touched By An Angel, for
Kirk Douglas, in which Mr. Douglas stars as a man who, after a lifetime of
struggle with his faith, returns to God and Judaism. Telushkin was the
co-writer with David Brandes and the Associate Producer of the 1991 film,
The Quarrel. The film, an American Playhouse production, and the winner
of the Santa Barbara Film Festival, was released theatrically throughout the
United States.
Rabbi Telushkin was ordained at Yeshiva University in New York, and pursued
graduate studies in Jewish history at Columbia University. He resides in New
York City with his wife, Dvorah Menashe Telushkin, and their four children
He
lectures throughout the United States, served as the Scholar-in-Residence of
the Jewish Community Centers Association for 2001-2002, on the Board of
Directors of the Jewish Book Council, and as spiritual leader of the
Synagogue for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles.
