Creating a Jewish Home (Part 1)

What is a Jewish home? Is it just a buidling with a mezuzah on the doorpost? Is it a family comprised of at least one Jewish parent all living together in one place? Or is there something about it that make a Jewish home distinctively different ? What makes a home a Jewish home?

A Jewish home has a Jewish spirit.

When you enter a Jewish home, you immediately feel the joy of life that enlivens the family. Everyone enjoys the delights of Yiddishkeit. Shabbos is a celebration, filled food and wine, Torah and mitzvos. Z'miros fill the air. Father chants the kiddush and mother chants the blessing over the candles. Children proudly display their decorative crations in the sukkah in the fall. Their faces beam brightly as they chant the four questions at seder in the spring.

A Jewish home is graced with love and respect.

Husband and wife value and love each other and share in the privelege of the mitzvah of creating their Jewish home. Children are are taught to live Torah values and perform mitzvos. Elder family members are treated with respect and their wisdom is cherished. Hospitality abounds! Guests are welcomed warmly on Shabbos and Yom Tov and are invited to share in the happiness that gives the home a special glow.

A Jewish home is proudly Jewish!

On the bookshelves, Jewish books are displayed as prominently as the great lierary classics. Jewish art adorns the walls. Recordings of great Jewish music sacred and secular can be heard throughout the house. A mezuzah marks each doorway. Kiddish cups, menorahs, and other ritual objects add to the festivity of special days throughout the year.

A Jewish home is alive.

Its Jewish spirit is vibrant and growing. It is not like a museum where one might wonder what life was like when these artifacts were used. No! It is a place enlivened by a family who loves each other and their fellow Jews. It is a place where Torah comes alive in word and deed. It is a place where the world is elevated to a higher plane of holiness, one mitzvah at a time.

When my family began to build our Jewish home, it seemed such a daunting task. So many things to learn and do! I thought I would have to find someway to make this transformation in an instant. Fortunately my wife and I discovered the excitement and sheer joy that comes from growing as an observant Jew.

If you feel as we did, dear friend, do not be discouraged. We began simply. First we began by making Shabbos special. We studied and learned and then we began to practice what we had learned in our home. A rabbi once told me that the Tradition teaches that "if you open a window even the tiniest crack, Hashem will fling wide the door!" So begin; even if what you do seems "small," begin. There are no "small" mitzvos. Once you have begun, you will see your Jewish home grow and grow.

May you be blessed with success in all your worthy endeavors. And may you go from strength to strength.

This article is posted in honor of my beloved wife, Ariella bat Ariyeh ha Cohen, in celebration of  the twenty-first anniversary of the creation of our Jewish home.

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