Teaching Your Children about God: A Modern Jewish Approach

by David J. Wolpe

Book Overview

A rabbi shows parents how to explain God to children, revealing ways in which individuals can explain what God expects of human beings, how humans talk to God, and why bad things happen to good... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060976470
• ISBN13: 9780060976477
• Release Date: December 1994
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Teaching Your Children About God

I really enjoyed this book. David J. Wolpe is a wonderful Author. The first book I ever read of his was " In Speech and In Silence: The Jewish Quest for God" , it was a little difficult, because of the vocab,but it taught me a lot in my search of understanding faith in God from the Jewish point of view. "Teaching Your Children About God" is another masterpiece. This tells you in detail,from using the first angle of a childs imagination to teach them about the Lord, To common aspects of God we should teach our children such as Gods Love and Justice and Prayer.It also touches on the hard things in life such as death. Read this book even if you don't have kids it will give you a step by step approach to life and faith in God from aspects the we as adults every now and than need to revisit.

Absolutely wonderful...

I first became aware of Rabbi Wolpe through his television appearances. He is frequently a commentator on the programs "Ancient Almanac", "Mysteries of the Bible," and other religious programs produced for the Discovery and History Channels. I have always found him remarkably eloquent, insightful, and wise. I checked this book out of my local library after the birth of my first child. Although I am not Jewish, I cannot imagine finding a better resource for how to talk, one day, to my children about God. Beyond that, I found the book to be personally inspiring because, obviously, such a book causes one to reflect on one's own understanding of God, and mine was most definitely enriched. I am sure that I will re-read this book many times for my own personal reflection before I ever consult it for advice on how to answer my child's questions. In terms of the "Modern Jewish Approach," rituals such as the Sabbath dinner, Passover, Yom Kippur, the bris, etc... are mentioned frequently; stories and anecdotes from the Talmud, Midrash and centuries of Jewish scholars and storytellers are generously sprinkled throughout the book, however there wasn't anything mentioned that I felt I "couldn't use" because I am not Jewish. In fact, I plan to look for more because I found the anecdotes and stories most helpful in explaining complicated, philosophical issues. Among the issues discussed in the book are: Where does God come from? Did He write a book? Is He a She? Where to look for God? What does God want from us? Why are there different religions? Does God hear our prayers? Why does God permit evil? Why do we die? Is there a heaven and/or hell? Does God still talk to us? And many others I have not listed. The book is delightfully readable and I would highly recommend it to anyone, parent or not, Jewish or not, who is looking to have their notion of God reinvigorated and challenged.

Wolpe's approach may be Jewish, but you don't have to be!

The wisdom Wolpe offers in this gem of a book transcends Judaism, and really offers creative ways for parents of any religion to open their children's minds (and their own!) to the basic concepts of a loving God who created the world and cares about what we do and what happens to us. It also paves the way for exploration of difficult issues like suffering and unfairness in the world. Wolpe never gets preachy; rather, he suggests ways to create shared moments with your child not just to teach but to validate his or her views on religion. A child who asks, "Why did God give Moses a speech impediment?" might not need an answer. He might be waiting to tell you, as Wolpe touchingly recounts, "So my sister wouldn't feel so bad" (because of HER speech impediment).That's the kind of God Wolpe wants kids and adults to share -- a God who cares about us and our feelings, even little girls who stutter. His chapters are at once deeply philosophical and eminently practical. You can tell just by reading this book that Wolpe is a man who knows kids and knows God and sees how naturally the two go hand-in-hand. Of course, because there's a child in each and every one of us, there is always the possibility that this book can help US re-establish connections to the divine that we haven't felt since childhood. And that, as they say in the credit card ads, is priceless.

Incredible and inspiring.

This is a must read for anyone who has questions on how to interpret religion for children