Community BlogReflecting on Values, Supporting each other
We always felt it was important to raise our children with strong Jewish values. That is what first attracted us to Parenting Through a Jewish Lens (PTJL). However, we have gotten so much more out of it than just learning Jewish values. PTJL gave us resources and tools to incorporate Jewish living into our daily lives. The course opened our minds to how we can better interact and teach our children, and allowed for personal reflection.
PTJL created a safe and supportive space in which we could learn together and from one another. Our PTJL group even connected outside of the class; we’ve done brunches, Shabbat and Havdalah dinners at each other’s houses, and volunteer activities with our children. We shared experiences, and found comfort and healing from others who were going through many of the same stages and phases of life as we were.
We especially loved the “Next Steps” and “Resources” offered at the end of each session. Those additional parenting suggestions, texts, and books helped us go deeper into the class topic discussed. We also appreciated the adult and children books recommended so we could further explore the Jewish values introduced in each session.
Finally, it’s nice for our kids to see that we parents are taking time to learn and better ourselves — they’re seeing that learning is a lifelong process.
Hebrew College’s Parenting Through a Jewish Lens is supported by CJP.