Raising Kids To Love Being Jewish

You want kids who feel great about themselves and love being Jewish...You want them to be happy and excited about Jewish activities...You want them to be outgoing and enthusiastic about Judaism...and frankly, you're not quite sure how to make this all happen. Book jacket.

This book reveals the three key rules for raising Jewishly ethical children, and the three holidays that can help you teach them the most important values of Judaism. Designed for Jews and non-Jews alike, it is a non-judgmental guide to being a partner in transmitting Jewish culture, tradition, and identity to your children in an authentic and accessible way. Throughout this book you will find suggestions for creating a warm, personal Jewish lifestyle that can add to the richness and quality of your child-rearing experiences. It is a practical guide to raising children with a positive Jewish self-image.

We all know the stereotype of the Jewish mother: Hectoring, guilt-inducing, clingy as a limpet. In Mamaleh Knows Best, Tablet Magazine columnist Marjorie Ingall smashes this tired trope with a hammer. Blending personal anecdotes, humor, historical texts, and scientific research, Ingall shares Jewish secrets for raising self-sufficient, ethical, and accomplished children. She offers abundant examples showing how Jewish mothers have nurtured their children’s independence, fostered discipline, urged a healthy distrust of authority, consciously cultivated geekiness and kindness, stressed education, and maintained a sense of humor. These time-tested strategies have proven successful in a wide variety of settings and fields over the vast span of history. But you don't have to be Jewish to cultivate the same qualities in your own children. Ingall will make you think, she will make you laugh, and she will make you a better parent. You might not produce a Nobel Prize winner (or hey, you might), but you'll definitely get a great human being.

Sixty-two of the most accomplished Jews in America speak intimately—most for the first time—about how they feel about being Jewish. In unusually candid interviews conducted by former 60 Minutes producer Abigail Pogrebin, celebrities ranging from Sarah Jessica Parker to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from Larry King to Mike Nichols, reveal how resonant, crucial or incidental being Jewish is in their lives. The connections they have to their Jewish heritage range from hours in synagogue to bagels and lox; but every person speaks to the weight and pride of their Jewish history, the burdens and pleasures of observance, the moments they’ve felt most Jewish (or not). This book of vivid, personal conversations uncovers how being Jewish fits into a public life, and also how the author’s evolving religious identity was changed by what she heard. · Dustin Hoffman, Steven Spielberg, Gene Wilder, Joan Rivers, and Leonard Nimoy talk about their startling encounters with anti-Semitism. · Kenneth Cole, Eliot Spitzer, and Ronald Perelman explore the challenges of intermarriage. · Mike Wallace, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ruth Reichl express attitudes toward Israel that vary from unquestioning loyalty to complicated ambivalence. · William Kristol scoffs at the notion that Jewish values are incompatible with Conservative politics. · Alan Dershowitz, raised Orthodox, talks about why he gave up morning prayer. · Shawn Green describes the pressure that comes with being baseball’s Jewish star. · Natalie Portman questions the ostentatious bat mitzvahs of her hometown. · Tony Kushner explains how being Jewish prepared him for being gay. · Leon Wieseltier throws down the gauntlet to Jews who haven’t taken the trouble to study Judaism. These are just a few key moments from many poignant, often surprising, conversations with public figures whom most of us thought we already knew. “When my mother got her nose job, she wanted me to get one, too. She said I would be happier.”—Dustin Hoffman “It’s a heritage to be proud of. And then, too, it’s something that you can’t escape because the world won’t let you; so it’s a good thing you can be proud of it.” —Ruth Bader Ginsburg “My wife [Kate Capshaw] chose to do a full conversion before we were married in 1991, and she married me as a Jew. I think that, more than anything else, brought me back to Judaism.”—Steven Spielberg “As someone who was born in Israel, you’re put in a position of defending Israel because you know how much is at stake.”—Natalie Portman

This book is a collection of letters from a religious Jew in Israel to a Christian friend in Barcelona on life as an Orthodox Jew. Equal parts lighthearted and insightful, it's a thorough and entertaining introduction to the basic concepts of Judaism.

From the bestselling author of "The Red Tent" comes indispensable, practical advice for those who wish to build a family and a home imbued with the values and traditions of Judaism.

Explore the challenges and blessings of interfaith families. For couples of different faiths, navigating issues of marriage and child-rearing add a layer of complexity on the road to happily ever after. Inside Intermarriage is Jim Keen's personal journal as the Christian partner in an interfaith marriage. From deciding to have a Jewish wedding, to raising his children Jewish, to learning about a new culture while maintaining his own religious identity, Keen's candid exploration of the challenges and opportunities offers comfort and strategies to couples starting down a similar road. Complete with stories of other interfaith families, and a discussion guide to help couples consider how to resolve dilemmas around holiday celebrations and family relationships, Inside Intermarriage offers a warm, humorous, and ultimately hopeful message about the power of family connection.

Provides parents with advice on using Jewish teachings from the Torah and Talmud to overcome struggles with raising children, nurture strengths and uniqueness, and encourage respectfulness towards their parents and others.