Part memoir, part scholarship, part manifesto for a vital approach to life, David Hazony’s book tackles some of the most painful human questions that stand at the heart of who we are as modern, thinking people and offers answers that are sure to start a new discussion about the meaning of one of our most enduring, yet least understood, traditions.

Across the Western World, the Ten Commandments have become a source of both inspiration and controversy, whether in Supreme Court rulings, in film and literature, or as a religious icon gracing houses of worship of every Christian and Jewish denomination. But what do the commandments really stand for?

According to polls, less than half of all Americans can even name more than four of them. Fewer still can name all ten or have a clear idea of the ideals they were meant to promote. For most of us, agnostics and faithful alike, they have been relegated to the level of a symbol, and the teachings they contain are all but forgotten. In Western life today, the Ten Commandments are everywhere— except where we need them most.

In The Ten Commandments, David Hazony offers a powerful new look at our most venerable moral text. Combining a fresh reading of the Old Testament’s most riveting stories and ancient rabbinic legends with a fearless exploration of what ails society today, Hazony shows that the Ten Commandments are not just a set of obscure laws but encapsulate a deeply valuable approach to life—one that is as relevant now as it was when they first appeared more than two millennia ago.