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– Same Location Since 1972 –
HOME 356-3677
SHOP 493-0212
Near 12 Mile Rd. bet. Evergreen & Southfield
along came Purim. I know it
is not considered one of the
major holidays in the Jewish
calendar, but this year it was
a turning point for me. The
youngest son came home
talking of triangular-shaped
cookies and beans in a stapl-
ed paper plate. When he tried
to share it with the older two,
they responded with, "I forget
— which holiday is Purim,
again? What happened
then?"
We considered attending a
Purim service and festival at
one of the local synagogues,
but it somehow felt false. Our
family didn't really belong.
After I thought it through,
I realized the peer support
was missing for our children.
And for us. The little we did
at home during the year was
just not sufficient. The boys
needed a framework, beyond
home and family, in which to
learn about and practice
Judaism. That framework
was the synagogue and the
religious school, with all of its
concurrent activities, infor-
mation and friends.
While the two older
children were learning to play
Passover songs on the piano,
I realized the melodies were
not at all familiar to them.
They had not been learning
about them, hearing them,
discussing them with anyone.
And the need for a
framework, the need to
belong, was confirmed.
Religion, especially during
the school age years, needs to
be shared with both family
and peers to be understood.
And children need peers to in-
teract with in order to
establish their own identities
and to sort out their proper
places in this world.
And so do my husband and
I. We need to belong. I can feel
my Jewish roots tugging at ;
me. We were not extremly
observant Jews before, nor do
I expect us to become such.
But there is a place for
Judaism in our lives. If
necessary, there needs to be
made a place.
And while, this year, we
solidified our sense of family,
allowed ourselves individual-
ly and as a group to re-
juvenate — we now need to go
back. I am uncomfortable
feeling disenfranchised. And
so is my family. It is time to
rejoin a synagogue and
reacknowledge our faith and
our family's commitment to
it.
It has been a good year; we
learned more than we set out
to discover. It was a good
choice then; and the decision
to rejoin a synagogue and in-
clude Judaism as a vital part
of our lives is the right choice
now.
559-1969
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
45