THE ART OF RAISING AND CULTIVATING JEWISH CHILDREN AND PARENTS

Tough Questions Jews Ask  by Edward Feinstein

 This is an except from Chapter 1. "Every day I wonder if God is real, if the Torah is true. Every day I wonder why I'm a Jew.

 But that's part of being Jewish.  In the Torah, we're called Yisrael- the ones who wrestle with God.  Wrestling, asking, wondering, searching is just what God wants us to do! God loves good questions. Now tell, what are your questions?"   

 Becoming a Jewish Parent by Daniel Gordis

 "When we talk to our kids about God, we're not ‘information providers.’  Rather we're ‘world builders,’ the people who are most responsible for the outlook on life our children will develop and carry with them for a lifetime.... When it comes to God, our job is to raise Jewish children for whom God is a reality, so that faith can be a possibility when they are adults." 

 Raising Your Child to Be a Mensch by Neil Kurshan

 According to Susan Isaacs, this book "is a guide to goodness - an intelligent, wise and warm-hearted  one.  In this age of relentless achievement, Rabbi Kurshan's book is a celebration of simple decency. "

The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things by Steven Z. Leder

 "Imagine if we were all able to find delight in the ordinary, day- to-day things that life brings us - the same way a child finds joy in a soap bubble, a goal scored, or sitting on Grandpa's lap.”

 On the book jacket: We get older and wiser, but we also lose our sense of awe and wonder… Rabbi Leder shows us that finding meaning and joy is just a matter of knowing where to look; he reawakens our souls to the miraculous nature of everyday life...shows us how to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary simply by paying attention. A wonderful book for busy parents that you can pick up, read a chapter in five minutes, put down and say "Wow!"

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel

 Carrie Fisher writes: "For anyone who has a child, was a child, or cares about children.  Wendy Mogel teaches you how to raise a child to be a good person and not just raise a child to feel good.  Great for the Jewish perent, great for the Presbyterian parent, the Buddhist, and even the skeptic."

 Teaching Your Children About God by David J. Wolpe

 The book jacket information says He "knows how tough it is to talk about religion, especially for parents who have had little or no formal religious training themselves.  Perhaps most important this wise...book shows parents who may feel something missing in their own spiritual lives that it is possible to nourish their own souls even as they nurture their children's." 

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