A series of essays writ­ten by rab­bis, edu­ca­tors, and Jew­ish lead­ers, Text Mes­sages: A Torah Com­men­tary For Teens focus­es on insights into the week­ly Torah por­tions com­bined with thought­ful advice about liv­ing a Jew­ish life in con­tem­po­rary soci­ety. Pro­found ques­tions are posed that have the poten­tial to moti­vate young peo­ple to con­tin­ue to devel­op their Jew­ish iden­ti­ties and to think fur­ther about who they are as peo­ple. The book com­mu­ni­cates Jew­ish val­ues in a way that young peo­ple can relate to and learn from with­out ser­mo­niz­ing. Read­ers are encour­aged to exam­ine their own lives and eval­u­ate who they are and who they hope to become. One essay by Rab­bi Joseph Pes­ner, for exam­ple, asks ​“What kind of leader are you?” pro­vid­ing an oppor­tu­ni­ty for read­ers to think fur­ther about the role of lead­er­ship in Judaism and in the sec­u­lar world. In anoth­er essay, Rab­bi William G. Hamil­ton writes, ​“Even if you risk embar­rass­ing your­self, it is nev­er wrong to do the right thing.” Wise advice and worth think­ing about! Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 13 and up.