Tue purpose of this book is to provide in a single handy volume theessential teachings of Judaism. It is written for those who want anup-to-date and easily intelligible account of basic Jewish concepts, aknowledge of which brings meaning to what may otherwise seemempty phrases. At the present time when we are confronted withwidespread indifference, we have great need of a spirituality basedupon genuine knowledge of our heritage.The need for some guiding principles or standards for Jews of thisgeneration is being enunciated in every direction. Knowledge of Jew-ish values has reached an abysmally low point. It is of the utmostimportance that the Jewish heritage be looked upon as a whole, notas a mere series of precepts and concepts linked together. Its studymust not be the prerogative of specialists, but should be shared bythe multitudes. The present volume has been prepared in a mannerthat old and young alike will find easily what they seek to know abouteach book of the Hebrew Bible, about the contents of the talmudic-midrashic literature, about the Jewish codes of law and ethics, and ingeneral about all the wisdom literature in Judaism.