Dear Makom Community Grownups,
As we enter the 49-day period between the second night of Passover and the holiday of Shavuot, where we count the omer, all of a sudden everything is a count in my life. Part of my job as an educator and Jewish communal leader is tracking patterns. And I have been hearing more questions from kiddos in our Lab School about antisemitism more and more frequently. And over Shabbat dinners and hallway check-ins, we know it’s weighing on you adults all, too.
How do we help our children have a sense of safety in our world and in our city? How do we speak to our children in ways that are both honest and age-appropriate about some of the ways our world may feel like it’s teetering? How do we show up for our families?
And then we entered this post Passover time with the news of a fire at the PA Governor’s Residence on the night of first seder. How do we understand that as information still emerges? Governor Shapiro had this to say, “If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community, who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night, hear me on this: we celebrated our faith last night, proudly and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover. No one will deter me or my family, or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly.” Governor Shapiro showed up, and we know each of us as parents show up each and every day.
Somehow, we’re supposed to load the dishwasher, get everyone to school and work, and just keep going in this constant hum of overwhelm. I want to make sure you know one thing– being in community is one of our biggest assets here. None of us have to do this alone. This is a deeply challenging moment to raise Jewish kids in. And we’re moving through this challenging moment in great company.
We are gathering parents to support each other at Makom Community at the end of April or beginning of May. We’ll have time to air our concerns and fears and hear about an array of resources available online and in books to support us. Please hit reply by April 22 and let me know if you’re interested. We plan to gather on a Wednesday evening in person at Makom Community.
Resources
There is now a lending library in Beverly’s office of children’s books to serve as resources for talking to your children about antisemitism.
Each one has a sticky note on it with a bit of information about what kind of resource it is. For example, “Historically accurate pictures of Holocaust inside, ages 8+.” For those not in Philadelphia, you can see our list of resources here.
With strength,
Beverly
Books about the Holocaust and antisemitism for parents to share with children