Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is a world famous authority on the Talmud and author of over 60 books. Most of the important words in our lives are commonplace ones — "friends," "family," "love," "God," "death," and "faith." In this scholarly work, the multilingual scholar and rabbi delves into the meaning of these simple but profound words that give our lives roots and wings.
One of the most appealing meditations is upon "good deeds." Steinsaltz believes that God does care about the little things that happen in our lives: "If it makes any sense for God to care about what happens to a galaxy, it makes exactly the same amount of sense for God to care about what happens to a blade of grass. . . . Just as nothing is too big for God, so, too, nothing is too small for God."
The author unfolds some of the nuances within our understandings of "nature" and he explores our dual citizenship in the worlds of "spirit and matter." In the final meditation, on "God," Steinsaltz presents a glimpse of the Holy One: "The secret of belief is not to expect to see miracles, or to have grand mystical experiences, but rather, to preserve the innate notion we are born with. Instead of adding, we have to edit out so many extra, useless words and ideas. If we can come to the core, and carefully develop the very fundamental points of our minds, we may discover that God has always existed within us."