Creating a Jewish Home

Parent Education sessions provide parents with the tools they need to be Jewish teachers and role models for their children. The CHAI Parent Education volume includes eighteen 90-minute lessons authored by Barbara Binder Kadden and is based on the same components as the Core: Torah, Avodah , and G'milut Chasadim. Lesson titles and summaries appear below.

• V’Shinantam L’Vanecha : And You Shall Teach Your Child 
  Parents examine their attitudes, beliefs and commitment to their own Jewish education and that of their children.
• Bless Me Too: Parental Favoritism and Sibling Rivalry in the Bible 
  Excerpts from the Torah portion Toledot are used to examine the issues of parental favoritism and sibling rivalry.
• Parenting Jewish Children: For Parents Who are Non-Jews, Jewish by Choice or Jewish by Birth 
  This session seeks to open dialogue and conversation on issues that directly affect all of our families.
• V’higadita L’Vanecha: You Shall Tell Your Child on That Day 
  This is a basic study of the holiday of Passover and how to choose a haggadah and includes a take-home resource handbook for the celebration of Passover.
• The Land of Israel: Exploring Our Connection, Connecting Our Children 
  This parent education session focuses on the enduring connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel.
• What Do The Four Children of the Passover Seder Teach Us About Parenting 
  Study of the biblical verses which are the basis of the Four Children along with rabbinic commentary leads to a discussion of the insights and implications for our own parenting.

Avodah

• Shabbat: Day of Rest, Day of Wonder, Day of Peace 
  The meaning of the Sabbath in Jewish life and in the lives of the session participants is explored. A take-home issue of the Jewish Parent Page for Shabbat is included with the session materials.
• Birkat Yeladim : The Joy of Blessing Our Children 
  This session teaches parents the background, meaning and ritual for blessing children, as well as how to actually do it.
• Making the Connection: The Power of Jewish Ritual 
  In this lesson, parents examine the meaning, purpose and importance of ritual in Jewish life for today’s families.
• One Hundred Blessings Every Day 
  Jewish tradition encourages us to say one hundred blessings everyday. Why and how we can incorporate blessings into our family lives is the focus of this session.
• With These Words: God, Spirituality, Prayer and Parenting 
  This session provides a helpful approach in developing a comfort level for parents to talk about God, spirituality and prayer with their children.
• 13 Steps on the Path of Jewish Beliefs, Values and Ethics 
  This session is an exploration of the guiding principles of Jewish life as found in the Amidah .

G’milut Chasadim

• Sacred Obligations: Discovering Meaning in the Mitzvot 
  Participants reflect on the mitzvah choices they have made and the effect their observance has had on themselves and their children and consider new mitzvot to observe.
• Havdalah : Reaching For the Sacred 
  Just as the sweet smelling spices of Havdalah carry us into the new week, this session encourages the participants to bring sacred time into their everyday lives.
• Sh’lom Bayit: Creating A Shelter of Peace 
  This session teaches the Jewish value of sh’lom bayit -peaceful and loving homes-and how to work toward that goal.
• Sustaining the World through Torah, Worship and Deeds of Loving Kindness 
  This parent session is devoted to exploring the concepts of Torah, avodah , and g’milut chasadim as the basic foundations for Jewish life.
• Diversity: Difference is our Strength-Becoming a Welcoming Community 
  This parent education session focuses on the role of parents in responding to diversity and difference in the Jewish community as well as modeling welcoming behavior for their children.
• Parenting is Tikkun Olam 
  The concept of tikkun olam is compared with Jewish parenting. Participants consider the question, “Do we repair our world through the parenting we give our children?”