teaching moments Archives - Values & Ethics

IGNITING CURIOSITY’S FLAME…

Posted by TTT | Jun 21, 2019 | communication, leadership, problem solving, teaching moments |

BEHA’ALOTECHA — A child’s face lighting up can light up the world. It most certainly will light up his or her parents’ hearts. Children are naturally curious, and their faces light up with understanding and delight. It’s up to us as parents and teachers to keep encouraging and nurturing that curiosity. When children ask a question and you don’t know the answer, look it up with them, or encourage them to look for the answer themselves. That is the beginning of education and using resources to follow one’s own curiosity into deeper understanding. This week’s Torah portion describes the...

PARENTS AS MODELS…

Posted by TTT | Jun 12, 2019 | communication, family, leadership, sharing, teaching moments |

NASO — When you live with someone, it’s difficult to become a model. People who live together see one another’s flaws and weaknesses and all their inconsistencies. Still, even with that reality, parents must be models for their children. For better or worse, children learn how to be in the world from their parents. Parents learn that it’s not what we instruct verbally, but what we do ourselves that is the most powerful teacher of all. In this week’s Torah portion, the laws of a Nazarite are enumerated for someone who voluntarily takes on stringent rules for a defined...

HOSPITALITY…

Posted by TTT | May 17, 2019 | family, home, responsibility, rituals, sharing, teaching moments |

EMOR — A great blessing one can have is the ability to give to others. Hosting guests and taking care of them is an important way to express this. Guests care much more about your attitude towards them than the expense or beauty of the surroundings. This week’s Torah portion, Emor, discusses Jewish holidays. We are called upon to celebrate these holidays joyously and always instructed to make sure we are sharing the joy with others – our families as well as guests we can bring into our home. In fact, we are taught that taking care of a...

PASSOVER—Asking Questions

Posted by TTT | Apr 18, 2019 | communication, holidays, sharing, teaching moments |

PASSOVER — Asking questions is essential to childhood. Doing one’s best to answer these questions is part of being a parent. Sometimes we are delighted by these questions, and at other times we are discomfited, at a loss as to how to answer them. Whichever it is, we know how important it is for our children to keep on asking questions. This coming week is time for the yearly Passover seders. The Torah and the rabbis who shaped the seders placed children’s questions at the heart of the seder. Not only are the “Four Questions” designed to specifically engage...

SIMCHAT TORAH—Opportunities for Joy

Posted by TTT | Sep 30, 2018 | blessings, gratitude, holidays, rituals, teaching moments |

SIMCHAT TORAH — Unbridled joy is the gift that children often experience as they go through their daily lives. They are capable of so much feeling, of happiness and sadness, and with such intensity. We celebrate with them when they are happy, and we are sad when they grieve. At times it’s important not to get too caught up with our children’s emotions and to maintain a calm front in the face of their ups and downs. At other times, it’s important to get right in there and rejoice or grieve right along with them. As a parent it...

Category: teaching moments

IGNITING CURIOSITY’S FLAME…

SIMCHAT TORAH—Opportunities for Joy

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