The Happiness Prayer: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for the Best Way to Live Today by Evan Moffic is a thoughtful book that explores happiness and contentment. The book covers many aspects on how to live a positive and balanced life. Moffic goes into great detail as he encourages readers to be kind, keep learning, honor your parents, be there for others, pray, forgive, be discerning, celebrate good times, and invite others into your life.

My favorite chapter was “Pray with Intention,” which discusses what prayer is and is not, different types of prayers, and whether prayer makes us happier. Another great chapter was “Be There When Others Need You”; I love how Moffic talks about how physical healing is sometimes affected by spiritual healing. Moffic is a rabbi, and the book incorporates a nice blend of theology and psychology. Happiness can be a complicated subject to examine, but Moffic skillfully weaves together social science and faith.