For as long as Judaism has been a reli­gion, ​“Jew­ish” has been a cul­ture. In The Jew­ish Way to a Good Life, Rab­bi Shi­ra Stut­man invites read­ers of every faith — and none — to do chesed (good work), fos­ter tzedek (jus­tice), prac­tice Shab­bat (rest), and ulti­mate­ly find hap­pi­ness.

From Love and Sex to Mourn­ing and Mon­ey, Rab­bi Shi­ra vis­its ten realms where we all get lost on occa­sion, to deliv­er spir­it­ed, sur­pris­ing wis­dom. On love: Sex is meant to be fun and lib­er­at­ing. On rest: Time is even more sacred than things. Again and again, she reveals how cus­toms have sur­vived not out of oblig­a­tion but because they meet our deep­est needs — from shi­va, which allows mourn­ing fam­i­lies not to be OK, to the unbri­dled joy of danc­ing the hora at wed­dings.

For any­one seek­ing com­mu­ni­ty or sim­ply ​“some­thing more,” The Jew­ish Way to a Good Life offers prac­ti­cal, time-test­ed ways to enrich our dai­ly rou­tines and engage those around us. By look­ing in and reach­ing out, we can all help tikkun olam—heal the world.