Parenting & Grandparenting Through a Jewish Lens

Option 1: Traditional: Each series is traditionally comprised of 6 modules. The cost for participants is $40/session. In order to run the class, there must be a minimum of 13 participants.

Hebrew College will:

• Provides instructor
• Facilitate registration
• Prints source books for each participant
• Provides marketing materials and works in partnership to market course

Option 2: Congregational Partnership – Each series is traditionally comprised of 6 modules. In this model, congregational partners pay a subscription fee for the series of their choice. The subscription entitles congregational partners to access individual lesson plans, source materials, teacher’s guides, and support materials. Subscriptions provide access for one year. See pricing structure below.*  The cost for participants is $18/session . In order to run the class, there must be a minimum of 8 participants.

Hebrew College will:

• Provide curriculum
• Offer up to 2 hours of consultation
• Facilitate registration
• Provide Digital resources for source books
• Provide marketing materials with logos and collaborate on recruitment strategy
• Promotes course through HC networks

Congregational Partners will:

• Provide instructor
• Recruit participants
• Print and distribute source materials

Option 3: Subscription Model – Each series is traditionally comprised of 6 modules. Congregations and institutions who choose this model pay a subscription fee for the series of their choice. The subscription entitles congregational partners to access individual lesson plans, source materials, teacher’s guides, and support materials. Subscriptions provide access for one year. Cost of subscription is based on congregational size (see “Pricing”).

Hebrew College will:

• Provide curriculum
• Offer up to 1 hour of consultation
• Provide Digital resources for source books

Congregational Partners will:

• Provide instructor
• Facilitate registration
• Recruit participants
• Print and distribute source materials
• Use Hebrew College logos on all promotional material

We offer tiered pricing depending on congregation size. Please contact Kim Bodemer, Director of Tamid of Hebrew College, at [email protected] to discuss pricing for your congregation or organization.

Join a group of fellow parents of newborns through nine-year-olds to discuss topics that matter to you as a parent; explore Jewish values that can enrich your family; reflect on the joys and challenges of raising kids today; and find support, encouragement, and connection.

Our curriculum helps parents discover the many ways in which Jewish sources of wisdom can inform their choices. A few examples of the topics addressed include:

• How can I help foster my child’s uniqueness?
• How can I nurture my child’s resilience?
• How can I help my family through dark times? How do I talk to my child about God?

Curriculum

SERIES A: IN OUR HOMES

Session One |  L’chayim (To Life) Simcha (Joy): Towards Joyful  Parenting
This opening session explores the tension between the Jewish precept to be happy and the real-life demands of parenting. How do we nurture joyfulness in our parenting?

Session Two | Keva (Jewish Practices): Infusing Our Lives with Meaning.
Our lives are enriched when we take time to appreciate daily blessings and reflect on our place in the world. This session considers various Jewish practices that we can elect to incorporate into the daily lives of our children. What place does Jewish home ritual have in helping children feel gratitude, wonder and a sense of purpose and belonging?

Session Three | Shalom Bayit (Peace in Our Home): Finding Peace in Our HomeJudaism calls on us to strive for peace in all aspects of our lives. What rules and attitudes should govern our interpersonal behavior for the best chance of peace among parents, children and any other members of our households?

Session Four | Shabbat (Sabbath): A Time to Reconnect and Recharge
Judaism introduced to the world the revolutionary idea of a day of rest. How has Shabbat been understood over time? What are some meaningful ways that we can incorporate Shabbat into our homes today?

Session Five | Kaddish: Parenting at a Time of Loss
Our Jewish tradition promotes “loving kindness” toward others. How can we inspire our children to take responsibility for and engage in acts of kindness toward others in our home and beyond?

SERIES B: OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD

Session Seven | Lech Lecha (Go Forth): Parenting for Resiliency
Judaism reminds us that our job as parents is to support our children in making the transition from dependence to independence. Along the way, they will likely experience both successes and disappointments. How do we raise children who cope well in the face of setbacks, who will become resilient adults?

Session Eight | B’nei Brit (Children of the Covenant): Parenting for Responsibility
A fundamental value of Judaism is that we have obligations to other Jews and to all humanity. What is the relationship between “chosenness” and being obligated to others? What role does the concept of chosenness have in the development of our children’s Jewish identities?

Session Nine | Hashem (God Talk): Nurturing the Wow
Judaism invites us to see the wonder in the day-to-day mundaneness and exhaustive quality of parenting. Yet, this is hard to do if we have doubts or don’t believe in God and have not figured out our own relationship to the universe in which we live. What are various ways to understand transcendence and how can we talk to our children about God?

Session Ten | Neshama (Soul): Making Space for Self-Expression
Jewish tradition teaches that every child is unique and has a special place in this world. How do we nurture each child’s uniqueness and spirituality? In what ways should differences in our children influence our parenting? How can we support our children on their own soulful journeys?

Session Eleven | Zion: Fostering a Connection to the Land of Israel
Historically, Jews have felt intimately connected to the Land of Israel. Today, with the     establishment of the State of Israel, the Jewish connection to the land can be both stronger and more complicated. What kinds of connections do we want our children to have with Israel? What opportunities do we have to help our children forge such connections? What obstacles do we face?

Session Twelve | Ledor Vador (From Generation to Generation) – Hopes & Dreams for Our Children
As parents, we have hopes and dreams for our children. Yet, we live in a world that offers an abundance (often an excess) of choices. How do we transmit to our children the values that we hold dear?

“Both in class and at home, Parenting Your Tween Through a Jewish Lens was a thought-provoking and fun opportunity to think about our family’s culture in new ways.” — Parenting Your Tween Participant

The practical and emotional challenges of raising pre-teens and teens in today’s world often seem overwhelming. Learn from both ancient and contemporary sources of wisdom that you are not alone in your journey through these complicated life stages.

Parenting Your ‘Tween Through a Jewish Lens and Parenting Your Teen Through a Jewish Lens create supportive communities of parents where you will explore compelling Jewish texts and traditions and share stories and ideas about raising preteens and teens today.

Curriculum

The practical and emotional challenges of raising teens in today’s world often seem overwhelming. Learn from both ancient and contemporary sources of wisdom that you are not alone in your journey through these complicated life stages.

Parenting Your Teen Through a Jewish Lens create supportive communities of parents where you will explore compelling Jewish texts and traditions and share stories and ideas about raising teens today.

Curriculum

PART ONE: GRIT AND GRACE WHILE RAISING TEENS 

Session One | Your Parenting Journey
We reflect on the joys and challenges of parenting teens on their journey to adulthood. We learn about the teenage brain and ask what it means to have bitachon (trust) when parenting teens.

Session Two | Expectations and Dreams
This session helps us identify the dreams and expectations that we and our communities have for our children. We consider the Jewish expression Im Tirsu Ein Zo Aggadah (“If you will it, it is no dream”) and discuss how our dreams and societal expectations impact our children.

Session Three | Your Teen is a Unique Being
Created betzelem elohim (“in the image of God”) no two human beings are the same. How do we support and even cherish our teens as they go through the difficult process of figuring out their place in the world?  How do we make space for teen self-actualization?

Session Four | Effective Communication
What behaviors lead to open communication and which ones shut down communication?  How and when should we convey messages of right and wrong?  This session considers the biblical term Hineini (“Here I am”) and explores how we can be truly present for our teens.       

PART TWO: PARENTING TEENS IN AN AGE OF UNPRECEDENTED CHOICE 

Session Five | The Good in the Selfish Me
This session focuses on how we can honor our teens’ developmental narcissism while guiding them towards greater self-control, gratitude and caring for others. We discuss the wisdom of the rabbinic understanding of yetzer hara (literally “the evil impulse”) as our life force.

Session Six | Peace in Our Non-Stop World
How can we can create a peaceful home for ourselves and our teens in the 24/7 information overload world in which we live? In accordance with the Jewish value of shalom bayit (peace in the home), this session explores challenges to peace in the digital age and ponders creative ways to nurture peace and bring seder (order) and calmness into our homes.

Session Seven | Jewish Pride and Combatting Antisemitism
Not all teens feel connected and proud about being part of Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people). This session opens an honest conversation about ways to engage teens Jewishly and the obstacles that inhibit teen Jewish involvement. We also discuss how to help teens combat antisemitism and how to prepare them for the antisemitism they may encounter in college.

Session Eight | Making Mistakes and Second Chances
Jewish tradition believes that we are all capable of teshuvah (repentance) and deserving of second chances. How do we model teshuvah? How do we maintain respect for our children when they show bad judgment? How do we help our teens make better choices moving forward?

“I have had a lot of fun sharing experiences and strategies about being a Jewish grandparent. We do have a good group and the fact that we’ve all known each other for decades makes the intimacy of sharing all the more meaningful.” — Arthur Walitt, Grandparenting Through a Jewish Lens participant

Grandparenting today is a rewarding and challenging experience. In this 4-session class, you’ll will come together to learn how Jewish wisdom can help us navigate our role in our children’s and grandchildren’s lives.

• How do we maintain good relationships with our children and grandchildren and not let our differences divide us?
• How does our role as grandparent evolve as our children and grandchildren change?
• How are we shaped by our relationships with our own parents and grandparents?
• How do we transmit our values to our grandchildren?

Curriculum

Session One | Our Grandparents, Ourselves
This opening session introduces us to one another and explores our individual identities as grandparents. How are our self-perceptions and expectations informed by our relationships and connections with our own parents and grandparents?

Session Two | Navigating Differences
How do we maintain good relationships with our adult children and our grandchildren while not succumbing to differences that threaten to divide us including in parenting styles, Jewish denominational practice, long distance, and interfaith child rearing?

Session Three | The Stages of Grandparenting
The grandparenting role changes as we, our children, and our grandchildren change. Being a grandparent in the postpartum days is quite different from being a grandparent to a toddler and to a school-age child. Teenagers and college kids provide their own opportunities and challenges as do adult grandchildren. What can we learn from each other and our sages that can inform our evolving roles, thoughts, and actions?

Session Four | Transmitting our Values
Each of us has our own value system.  Perhaps our values are informed by Jewish tradition, or perhaps they are informed by other sources.  How do we transmit to our grandchildren what feels most important to us? How can we do so in a way that is respectful of their own parents’ role in teaching them what matters? How will we leave “our mark” in ways that feel both natural and deliberate?