Jewish Spiritual Parenting: Wisdom, Activities, Rituals and Prayers for Raising Children with Spiritual Balance and Emotional Wholeness

Become more insightful, inspired parents through Jewish spiritual wisdom.

"While raising our three children, we learned a parenting secret: that bringing up a child transforms us and transforms our world. We discovered that being parents is a spiritual journey that begins in an act of love and continues through intentional actions. The Holy One bequeaths to us minimally formed creatures, all potential, morally neutral. As parents we transform those children into compassionate, loving human beings. We become partners with God."
—from the Introduction

Parenting has never been easy—but in a culture that encourages more screen time than face time, how can you make sure that your children stay connected to what really matters in life?

In this guidebook for building a strong framework for a Jewish life, Rabbi Paul Kipnes and Michelle November, MSSW, reveal the spiritual wisdom they have learned and the hard-won parenting techniques they developed that shaped their children as individuals and their family as a whole. Together, they explore spiritually nourishing approaches to help you foster essential Jewish values like gratitude, joy and honesty in your children. Kipnes and November also share timeless teachings and spirit-filled activities, rituals and prayers that will help you cultivate strong Jewish values and cherished spiritual memories in your own family.

Rabbi Paul Kipnes is spiritual leader of Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, California. A former camp director, North American Federation of Temple Youth regional advisor and national award-winning Jewish educator, he lectures regularly on raising ethical, resilient Jewish children.

Michelle November, MSSW, is the former national college director of the Union for Reform Judaism. She has guided families of all ages as a parenting teacher, a family camp retreat designer and most recently as an admissions officer at de Toledo High School in West Hills, California.