Tips on Jewish Spiritual Parenting
by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh
From Brunch at the Park! July 16, 2017
Text 1: Abundant blessings
חייב אדם לברך מאה ברכות בכל יום שנאמר
'A person must make one hundred ( meah) blessings each day, as it is stated
(דברים י, יב) ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלהיך שואל מעמך
(Deuteronomy 10:12), "And now Israel, what ( mah) does the Lord, your God, ask of you."
Why do you think it is important for us to say 100 blessings a day?
What do blessings do for you?
Try this:
- Download the 'Sanctifull' App by the Rabbinical Assembly - https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/story/sanctifull
- When you see a rainbow, look up the prayer and teach your children about it. The app is a great tool to mark everyday spiritual experiences with your families!
- On Friday evenings at Shabbat dinner, go around and ask them what they were grateful for this week?
Text 2: Holiness at every opportunity
Barukh ata adonai elohenu melekh ha’olam, shehecheyanu, v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu la’z’man ha’zeh Blessed are You Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe who has given us life, sustained us, and allowed us to reach this day.
What specific things do we learn from this prayer?
What does it teach us about the nature of time?
What can it teach us in this day and age?
“Our task as parents – as historians of childhood – is to collect previous Shehechenyanu moments like wildflowers, gathering them into radiant bouquets. Reciting Shehecheyanu, we allow these moments to blossom into the blessings they are.” Rabbi Paul Kipnes and Michelle November
Try this: Whenever something new happens – for the first time or the first time that year; something Jewish or even something like when they ride their bike for the first time without training wheels; give your child a huge hug, look into their eyes, and recite the blessing.
Text 3: Set daily time
Deuteronomy 6:7
וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃
“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Try this: Use wake up time and bed time as opportunities for prayer and connection.
Reading:
#LivePresent – Words of Torah from Rabbi David Baum on how we can 'live present' for ourselves and our families, and why it is so vitally important in our day and age.
http://rabbidavidbaum.blogspot.com/2016/10/livepresent-kol-nidre-5777.html
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