Families at the Center
We are all incredibly busy. Some of us are overwhelmingly so. We sign our kids up for so many activities – the wider community seems to believe that this is a good and important thing to do, so we do it. And if our kids enjoy those activities, and especially if they become passionate about them, we are delighted. We want our kids to find their passions. Some of them will go on to engage in those activities for a long time and at the highest levels. Most will enjoy them until their interest takes them in other directions. These are all good things.
Being Jewish, I believe, is something that to which we should ascribe a high value for our kids. Ideally it will not be about interest, but about identity. It is who we are and always will be. We are part of a people that has been around for over 3,800 years! And we have developed and adapted to the world around us as the world has changed. Reform Judaism is one of those adaptations, begun by Jews who wanted to retain their connection to our people and being fully engaged in the modern world around us.
There have been a lot of people and institutions who were instrumental in making that happen. I could spend hours listing them. I believe, however, that the most significant institution to help children develop Jewish identity is the family and the most important people in making that happen are their parents. TBT is here to help make those connections here on the Shoreline for all of us. Our religious school and our teachers and I are here to help families build Jewish relationships: kids with kids, parents with parents and families with families. I want to invite you – all of you – to engage more deeply with one another and with us. Help us build the school into a Kehilah (community).
We have a variety of opportunities to bring groups of families together throughout the year. Sometimes in groups of classmates and their families, others through shared experiences organized around a value or an idea. We want kids to learn with their parents and for parents to model Jewish learning and connecting. And we want to fashion those opportunities in ways that work for you. Please reach out to me. Let’s grab coffee or tea and talk about what that might look like.
I often talk about how we want our school and faculty to be important and meaningful tools that help you rear connected Jewish kids. We don’t want to be your proxies in doing that. We want to be your partners.
L’shalom,
Ira J. Wise, D.J.R.E., R.J.E.
Temple Educator