Hi,

I recently heard a great story.

A friend of mine and his family spent the Passover holiday at a kosher hotel.

Their Seder went quiet late and they were the last to finish.

They couldn’t wait to get into bed and go to sleep.

But as they were about to leave the dining room?

He said to his preteen son…

 “Let’s go find our waitress and thank her.  She worked so hard and stayed very late.”

It took a few minutes to find her but it was worth it.

She really appreciated it. It made her day!

… Fast forward a few months.

My friend and his family eat out at a kosher restaurant.

And when they’re about to leave?

That son is missing.  They look all over and can’t find him.

He finally comes running from the direction of the kitchen.

His parents ask him where he was.

And what does he say?

“I went to say thank you to our waitress.”

… Mark Twain said, “No sinner ever repented after the first ten minutes of a sermon!”

But with kids you don’t even have ten minutes.

Because no kid ever listened to a sermon!

Especially from his parents!

But kids do follow a good example.

And whether or not we’re parents?

There’s someone who looks up to us.

And even if they won’t always listen to what we say?

They’ll probably do what we do!

… It’s only one minute into my “sermon”.  So I should still have your attention.

Our actions don’t only affect others.

They also affect us.

Which is why rituals are so important in Jewish tradition.

Rituals are things that we do to make ideas more real to us.

And to help us transmit those ideas to the next generation.

If you are looking to introduce Jewish ritual into your life?

Or would like to have a better understand of rituals that you already do? 

You’re invited to join me this Thursday evening at 7:30 for a special workshop at CTN.

“Jewish Rituals & Their Meaning”.

You can even let me know if you would like me to discuss a particular ritual!

All the best,