Hebrew School

Hebrew school was an interesting thing in my family when I was a child. My mother's brother had 2 sons and a daughter and my father's brother had 2 sons and a daughter. The boys were automatically sent to Hebrew School but the girls were not.

Papa,Mom's dad, belonged to an Orthodox temple although Nana,Mom and Uncle Louis were not really religious. When I was around 5 years old, Papa asked me if I wanted to go to Sunday school with my cousins Evan who was 9 and Jeff who was 6. I jumped at the chance.

Although the boys were kind of bored,I loved it! I learned songs in Hebrew and I was hooked. When we moved to a new town,Papa asked me if I wanted to go to Hebrew school in my town and not be with my cousins anymore. I didn't care who I was with I just wanted to learn Hebrew. Mom said I didn't have to go if I didn't want to. I didn't know why anyone would not want to go.

I thought Hebrew was a magical language and I loved learning it. The big finale was my Bat Mitzvah in 1976. Ya,I'm that old. You can read about that here.

So here we are in 2008 and I haven't joined a temple or sent Lillianna to Hebrew school yet. By chance,I started talking to her friend's mom at a birthday party a few weeks ago and she asked me if we belonged to a temple. I told her that they're so expensive and I didn't think I could afford it.

She told me about her temple which is 30 minutes from where we live but it sounded affordable. She said the people were really welcoming.
Long story short,(as if that's possible!!)Lillianna and I went with Nancy and her daughter Lauren to Hebrew School last Monday and last night and it's great!!

The moms stay for the class and help their child. It's a requirement of the class and I totally dig that,I tell ya. Lillianna went from not knowing one single thing last week to reciting her numbers 1-10 flawlessly last night. I was so proud. I taught her well. I had to recite them too which I thought was funny but very cool.

We will be attending a service on Friday night which will be fun. I love Shabbat services. I want Lillianna to know what it is to be Jewish.

The crazy part is that Mom is not supportive. She said we can't afford to join and she isn't happy with my decision. My sister Kara is 100% supportive and said that she regrets not going to Hebrew School. I used to take her to services with me all the time and I tried to teach her about all the holidays but she didn't push to go the way that I had and Mom didn't think it was necessary for Kara to go. I recently got an email from my cousin Marcia and she said she also regrets not going to Hebrew School. I know I've made the right decision.

Even though it is very disappointing to me that Mom isn't thrilled about my decision,I told Lillianna that when you know you're making the right choice,even though some people may not approve,you just gotta stick with it.

It feels great to be back in the temple again! It really does!