{"id":27732,"date":"2012-06-27T17:58:52","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T17:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=27732"},"modified":"2017-01-22T01:29:04","modified_gmt":"2017-01-22T06:29:04","slug":"the-summer-months-critical-efrem-goldberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/parenting\/the-summer-months-critical-efrem-goldberg\/","title":{"rendered":"The Summer Months Are Critical"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, like so many of you, I eagerly look forward to my summer vacation. \u00a0Used properly, a vacation is not only an opportunity to take a break from the rigors of work, but it provides tremendous learning and growing opportunities. \u00a0In fact, it can be said that how we use our vacation and what we do in our down time not only reveals much about our priorities, but has a huge impact on our children as well.<\/p>\n

Every day in Shema we recite \u201cv\u2019sheenantam levanecha v\u2019dibarta bam<\/em>,\u201d teach your children and speak about Torah, \u201cb\u2019shivtecha b\u2019veisecha u\u2019velechtecha ba\u2019derach<\/em>,\u201d when you are sitting at home and when you are traveling on the way. I once heard a very powerful interpretation. \u00a0We certainly teach our children Torah through the words we say and the messages we articulate. \u00a0But even more so, we teach them through our actions and behaviors “b\u2019shivtecha b\u2019veisecha<\/em>,” what we do when we are at home, and “b\u2019lechtecha ba\u2019derech<\/em>,” when we are out of our homes, traveling on the road, enjoying a vacation.<\/p>\n

When we are on vacation with our families, do they still see us davening<\/em> (praying) three times a day and making every effort to attend minyan\u00a0<\/em>(quorum\u00a0of 10 men for prayer)? \u00a0Do they see us making time to learn, study and read? \u00a0Are we able to truly disconnect and spend quality time with those that we love in meaningful, memorable ways?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The summer is not only a time for us as adults to rejuvenate, revitalize and refresh. \u00a0The break represents an amazing, often neglected opportunity for our children to grow as well. \u00a0In fact, I would humbly submit to you that the two months in-between school are as important and significant in molding and shaping a child as the 10 months he or she attends school.<\/p>\n

For 10 months a year, children that attend yeshiva day school are familiar with the weekly parsha\u00a0<\/em>(Torah portion) from school. \u00a0Do we make sure that they study the parshiyot<\/em> that fall between June and August as well? \u00a0For 10 months a year, our children begin each day by davening<\/em> to Hashem. \u00a0Do we make sure that they realize that davening<\/em> is part of a Jew\u2019s daily routine, whether he or she is in school, working, or on vacation? For 10 months of the year, many children wear uniforms that reinforce the value of modesty. \u00a0In the two months that they are off, are we vigilant to make sure that their choice of clothing and dress sends the right message?<\/p>\n

For 10 months of the year, our children are stimulated intellectually and challenged academically to think, read and study. \u00a0For the two months that they are off from school, do we allow them to be off from thinking and growing intellectually as well or do we challenge them to read for fun, explore their interests and expand their minds? \u00a0The down time and ability to have fun and be kids is critical to their development. \u00a0But it doesn\u2019t mean we should be indifferent to our kids spending their summer playing video games and watching tv and movies.<\/p>\n

As I head off on my summer vacation, I want to wish all of you a healthy, happy, safe and super productive summer.<\/p>\n

\n

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg<\/strong>\u00a0is the Senior Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS) in Boca Raton, Florida. He serves as Co-Chair of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board\u2019s Va\u2019ad Ha\u2019Kashrus, as Director of the Rabbinical Council of America\u2019s South Florida Regional Beis Din for Conversion, and as Posek of the Boca Raton Mikvah.<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The two months in between school are as significant in shaping a child as the 10 months he or she attends school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":733,"featured_media":55018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Summer Months Are Critical - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The two months of summer vacation in between school are as significant in shaping a child as the 10 months he or she attends school.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/parenting\/the-summer-months-critical-efrem-goldberg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Summer Months Are Critical - 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