This collection of book reviews from Conservative Judaism examines four significant works in Jewish scholarship and ethics. The reviews analyze Raymond P. Scheindlin's literary study of medieval Hispanic Hebrew poetry, which presents secular poems on themes of wine, women, and death from the Golden Age, highlighting the tension between carpe diem and memento mori in Andalusian Jewish culture. Robert Gordis's ethical treatise addresses contemporary moral breakdown by proposing Jewish sources of natural law as foundations for modern ethics, arguing that neither traditional religion nor science can adequately provide moral guidance in today's lawless world. A posthumous collection of Jerome Lipnick's writings reveals the passionate commitment of a rabbi who strove to embody the ideal of tzaddik through his dedication to social justice, Jewish survival, and ethical living. Finally, Michael Marrus's historical analysis of European refugees in the twentieth century traces the systematic persecution and displacement of various groups, particularly Jews and Armenians, while documenting the inadequate international response to humanitarian crises. These works collectively demonstrate the ongoing relevance of Jewish scholarship in addressing literary, ethical, biographical, and historical questions, while revealing both the achievements and failures of modern civilization in confronting moral challenges and human suffering.