Looks Like My Jewish Parenting Worked
Looks Like My Jewish Parenting Worked
Decades later, a mother and grandmother looks back
Until this year, I hadn’t celebrated the High Holy Days with my 45-year-old son for over a decade, ever since his family moved from New York to Los Angeles.
When he first invited me to spend Yom Kippur with them, I asked, “Are you sure? Want to think about it and get back to me tomorrow?”
“Nope,” he said. “Come!”
Enough said. My bags were packed.
Fast forward to the Kol Nidre service at his Reform synagogue in L.A. Just the two of us sat side-by-side listening to the sounds of the Hebrew songs. So special. It got me thinking about how I’d raised him and his older sister years ago.
As a young Jewish mother, I’d felt the weighty responsibility of teaching my children the meaningful Jewish history, and exposing them to the ethics, pride, and culture of Judaism. I’d done all the things.
Religious school? Check.
Bat and bar mitzvah? Check.
Jewish holiday family meals? Check.
Chanukah? Check.
Back then, I wondered: Was I doing enough to ensure they embraced their Jewish heritage like I had?
But as I watched my grown son, a dad of three himself, putting on a yarmulke, and davening, singing along in Hebrew, and touching and kissing the Torah as it moved through the aisle, I felt chills. My heart filled with love, admiration, and pride. Years ago, I had given him the tools to embrace his faith. Now, in my seventies, I was able to watch him wield them.
From generation to generation. Check.
Ellen Katz is a philanthropist and an active member of many non-profit boards across the country including Northwestern University and the Barrow Neurological Institute. She currently lives in Arizona.
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