FOCUS

DENNIS PRAGER

Special to The Jewish News

I

t was easier to raise a
Jewish child in the anti-
Semitic and impoverished
world of the shtetl than it is
in America and other West-
ern democracies today.
Only Jews who have con-
structed modern shtetls —
Jewish areas deliberately cut
off from non-Jewish and non-
Orthodox Jewish influences
— can be confident that their
children will remain Jewish..
For those of us who live in the
modern world and still want
our children to have a strong
Jewish commitment, raising
a Jewish child is a daily
battle.
It can be done. But it
demands sacrifice and clear
thinking.
First, parents need to be
scrupulously honest with
themselves about their priori-
ties. In order of preference,
which do you want your child
to be — brilliant, successful,
happy, Jewish, popular?
You might argue that you
want your child to be all of
these things equally. Very
well, then, do you actually ac-
cord each goal equal time and
effort?
If you really want an
honest answer to this ques-
tion, ask your child the ques-
tion: -"Sean (Heather), which
of these do you think I most
want you to be?" If your child
answers, "The most impor-
tant thing to you is that I be
a committed Jew," you have
been successful at communi-
cating how important Juda-
ism is to you. If your child
answers, "They are all equal-
ly important to you," the
child may merely be saying
what he or she thinks you
would want to hear. So repeat
the question this way: "Do
you really believe that I want
you to be a committed Jew as
much as I want you to be a
good student and get into a
top college?"
If you are truly brave, ask
your children which of these

Dennis Prager has co-
authored The Nine Questions
People Ask About Judaism,
and Why The Jews?, and is a
commentator on moral and
political issues on KABC
Radio in Los Angeles. He
writes and publishes his own
quarterly journal, Ultimate
Issues, from which this
article is reprinted. Readers
may write for a sample copy
to Dennis Prager, 1057,9 Pico
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
90064.

108 FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 1989

The Challenge Of
Raising A Jewish Child

Judaism no longer has to compete with
Christianity; today it has to compete with
cheerleading practice. And it usually loses.

Ar! by Joseph The