Leaving with a Feeling of Warmth

My daughters outside Temple Israel, where they currently attend Hebrew School.

Cami P Griffith is a participant in Parenting Through a Jewish Lens at Temple Israel of Natick.

Last night completed my 7th session of Parenting Through a Jewish Lens (Ikkarim). I am enrolled in an evening session through Temple Israel of Natick, as it came highly recommended from several past participants. It has lived up to its reputation, through class content, discussion and wonderful facilitation by Rabbi Dan Liben and Cantor Ken Richmond.

I left the first evening with homework.Each member of the class was encouraged to try to incorporate either or both the Mo-deh A-ni (a thank-you prayer said upon waking up) and Shema (a bedtime prayer) into our daily routines. It made sense for me to include the Mo-deh A-ni and I've kept up with it since. I sing the words each morning, and my daughters listen attentively and sometimes participate.

I leave each Wednesday’s session with a feeling of warmth—I suppose from the sense of community established within the group and knowing that we have discussed such important topics. It's also nice to be doing something for myself. Particularly with the complexities of life with children, I find very little time to attend to my own needs. 

Lastly, I come from an interfaith marriage and it’s been nice sharing some unique topics with the class and in turn sharing information discussed / learned with my husband. 

I extend a very warm thank you to both our teachers and would highly recommend this program to anyone who is considering participation.