What does it mean to be a Jewish mother?

Please check out this page discussion and share your thoughts!
This is a question many of us should be asking ourselves this time of year. As we approach Rosh Hashana let us take the time to reevaluate ourselves as parents.

Every Friday night, as I light Shabbat candles, I pray for the strengeth to be a good mother. To be calm, protective (but not too protective), and to act as a good role model are some goals I think of every week. And now, as we are gearing up for the new year, I am looking back on this past year and thinking of ways to improve.

Let’s ask ourselves:
Are we headed in the direction we want to be going? Could we be doing better?

I’m interested to hear your thoughts, so please share!

Simplicity in Apples

My son is 2 going on 13. He truly amazes me with his excitement for Torah and mitzvot at such a young age. He makes blessings over food, says the Shema prayer and likes to wear a kippah. Yesterday, my family and I went apple picking with some other families. My little guy has been intrigued by apple picking ever since he read a book about Elmo picking apples at Grover’s farm. So, you can imagine his excitement at actually going to do this ourselves. He had a wonderful time picking apple, eating apples and talking about all the things we would make with the apples and how we will eat them with honey on Rosh Hashana. The best part is, when we were walking out of the orchard I asked him who made the apples and he proudly declared “Hashem!”.

For me the whole experience is a reminder of keeping it simple. Its easy to get caught up in complex thoughts and to lose track of who we are and where we are going. Yes, we need to constantly work on ourselves to learn and grow. But, at the end of the day we need to come back to the basics. What better why to learn this then by watching the world through the eyes of a two year old child? The happiness he get’s from such simple activities such as making blessings and picking apples reminds me to appreciate all that I have. As long as we are striving to be good people and know who created the apples, I think we are on the right track.

Check out this great class on Rosh Hashana:

Turning Evil into Goodness

by Rabbi Hershel Reichman

In this shiur (Torah class) Rabbi Reichman discusses the idea of teshuva, where past misdeeds have the In this shiur (Torah class) Rabbi Reichman discusses the idea of teshuva, where past misdeeds have the ability to actually become merits. This Torah class is available online in streaming video and for download in mp3 and ipod video formats

The Ultimate Driver

My son is obsessed with trucks, buses, trains, airplanes, and anything else that moves. What do I expect, he’s a two year old boy! Not only do these large moving objects interest him, but also the drivers, pilots and captains. Whenever he plays with his fisher price toy school bus he has to make sure there is a proper driver in driver’s seat. Recently, while traveling back from a trip to the West coast, my son was allowed to walk into the cockpit of the airplane when we were boarding. He met the pilot and co-pilot and he saw all the buttons. This made a big impression on him. He truly sees these individuals as very important people- they drive a plane!

I also like to be the driver and feel important when in this position. Rather then being a passenger, when I’m the driver I am in control. But, I’m not just talking about when I drive myself and my son around in the car to various shopping and activities. In life we all try to be the driver. We want control, we want to feel like everything that happens to us is by our own choosing. . In reality, there is only One driver in this world- G-d. During Rosh Hashana we aren’t just celebrating the Jewish new year, we are celebrating this world and the life we have been given, and we are crowning our King, the true driver in our lives.

I hope to show my son, by my words and living examples, that in actuality Hashem is our driver and we are along for the ride. Yes, we do our hishtadlus, our part, and we do have free will. But ultimately everything we have comes from above and we cannot pretend that our actions bring the final outcomes. Just recently my husband and I were discussing how we really could use a little extra parnassah, financial means. Without even trying I was contacted to start a new project- one with great pay and very flexible hours. Yes, I believe I am good at what I do and that the professional connections I have made were involved. But, this job really fell out of the sky (no pun intended!).

On Naaleh.com, Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller discusses how to make Rosh Hashana and the rest of the High Holidays meaningful for our children.  Rebbetzin Heller talks about how ultimately we teach our children about Rosh Hashana though example. We try to improve ourselves during the month of Elul, and we ask our children for mechila, forgiveness, for anything we may have done to hurt them this past year. Rebbetzin Heller also suggests telling stories to our children which exemplify how Hashem is our King. We aim to teach them to think of Hashem in terms of,  “wherever you take me, I will go”. This relates back to the idea of the driver. Wherever Hashem is going, we are along for the ride.

Check out the shiur:

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and sweet new year. May this coming year bring us all many blessings.