Family Education Shabbat

“I attended to fulfill the Bar Mitzvah requirement and felt obligated to go to keep my son company. Usually on Saturday morning I am running around doing errands and trying to recover from the stresses and strains of the long workweek. What I found was that the quietness, music, and reflective conversation of the morning felt like “me” time and not an obligation at all. I mentally calculated that with ten services, I will get almost 30 hours of “me” time between now and June. Not bad, especially when I know that I am setting a good role model for my child at the same time.”

“The questions posed are very smart; they’re meant to provoke thought both by the parents and from the kids. They’re open-ended enough so that many life lessons can be discussed, and specific enough so that both adults and children can learn from the parsha (Torah portion). The small groups bring kids closer together.”

“I was concerned about getting through our first Family Education Shabbat with my son, but I am happy to report that it was a delightful morning. We sat with friends from his Hebrew School class – something of a risk – but the boys participated in the discussions and even sand and chanted to the songs and prayers that they knew (most of them). At lunch, they wanted to linger. We’re looking forward to the next one!”