Raising a Mensch, Valentines Day and Winter doldrums

Valentine's Day always poses a conundrum at Religious School.  We do NOT celebrate Valentines day but as I always tell my students if my husband were to forget about it I would not be happy.  It is always a balancing act to  navigate between our Jewish chagim and our secular holidays.  I like that I have to think about both as I plan out my schedule. 

This Friday night at Lakeside we will be having our Tot Shabbat and we will be celebrating "I Heart Shabbat".  This gives us an opportunity to love Shabbat, be with our families and enjoy. I love the opportunity to work with our Children's Center and bring more families together to celebrate Shabbat. 

On Sunday at 10:30 am (after t'filah with me in the sanctuary)we will have multiple programs including  a wonderful program that will discuss how we can help our children and grandchildren to raise a mensch.  Lisa Kaplan will be here to discuss with us how we can listen to our children with an open ear, free range  parenting and she will be taking questions as well.  This is a wonderful opportunity to come in from the cold for services and a delicious lox and bagel brunch. 

As we look forward to next year we will also be meeting with our 2016-2017 B'nai Mitzvah class to discuss this meaningful life cycle simcha.  We know some families find different challenges as B'nai Mitzvah approaches and we hope to discuss and share our best experiences and even our worst experiences around B'nai Mitzvah. We will culminate with a Shabbat dinner on March 18th. 

I hope these activities will get you out of your winter doldrums.  It may be cold outside but it will be very warm here at Lakeside and I am sure in your homes.