<< RETURN TO MAIN MENU >>

TEN WAYS to help YOUR CHILDREN
have a more meaningful YOMIM NORAIM

The Yomim Noraim are here again.

Along with the flurry of preparations, we cannot forget to take the time to prepare our children for these important days. The lessons that we teach them now will shape the way they appreciate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for the rest of their lives. Teach them and re-teach them the basics of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - the purpose of Teshuvah, the invigorating feeling of starting the new year with a clean slate and the importance of feeling close to Hashem. Teenagers need to hear these ideas. It’s our responsibility to tell them!

We hope that the ideas below will help your family appreciate the great opportunity that we have during this important time of year.

With sincere wishes for a Kesivah V’Chasimah Tovah,
Rabbi Shaya Cohen

PS. We always appreciate your feedback and ideas. Please email me at scohen@priority-1.org.

Use these suggestions to help your children (and yourself) experience Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with a sense of purpose, an awareness of Hashem’s love, and the belief that we all possess the ability to form a meaningful relationship with our creator.

1. Explain to your children how Hashem actively seeks ways to forgive, and will forgive them – even if the best they can do is want to do teshuva.
   
   
2. Remind them that Yiddishkeit is not all-or-nothing – that their aveiros do not invalidate their mitzvos or diminish Hashem’s love.
   
   
3. Model the virtue of personal growth by sharing your own goals to improve a particular mitzvah or middah, or by working to improve something together with your children.
   
   
4. Urge them to privately recall something they wish they could undo, and reassure them that now is their opportunity to erase whatever they regret.
   
   
5. Share your personal stories of Hashgacha Pratis with your children to demonstrate Hashem’s direct involvement in your family’s day-to-day lives.
   
   
6. Encourage your children to focus on two or three things they truly appreciate as constant reminders of Hashem’s benevolence in their own lives.
   
   
7. Sincerely ask your children for mechilah during the Yomim Noraim to teach that everyone can make mistakes, and are equally worthy of being forgiven.
   
   
8. Suggest they undertake a small goal to improve their Yiddishkeit with reassurance that the most proper and effective way to grow is through small, obtainable steps of self-improvement.
   
   
9. Make a special effort during the Yomin Noraim to model Hashem’s middah of patience, compassion and forgiveness in your interactions with your spouse and children.
   
   
10. Show your children they are the center of your world. Postpone a meeting or ignore a phone call to make time for them so they’ll feel cherished and can comprehend that Hashem, too, considers them the center of His world.

COURTESY OF THE COMMUNITY TRAINING INITIATIVE OF PRIORITY-1
Under the auspices of Harav Reuven Feinstein, Shlita

For additional copies of this poster or for more information about Priority-1’s training programs, resources and consultations for parents and educators, please call 800-33-FOREVER