Jewish Federation correspondence, meeting minutes, and other records, item 12

Family Corner -- Bill Feldman, Executive Director Jewish Family Service Agency a What is a MENSCH? My parents talked about raising such a person and I never knew what they meant. Now my wife and I are trying to raise two such creatures. Rabbi Kurshan, in his book Raising Your Child To Be A Mensch* *Decent, Responsible, Caring Person. Kurshan puts into words what I knew in my heart but not in my head. Irma Bombeck I am not, but I am vitally concerned with parenting. This book is a must for all parents as it talks about raising decent human beings. Children need to be taught and civilized. Rabbi Kurshan views parents as being human and trying to do their best in raising their children. There is no blueprint to parenting. As parents there are basic normal pressures which we experience and need to understand. The pressure to create a MENSCH is tremendous. We feel that if our child is a problem, then we've done something wrong! The Rabbi attempts to defuse the stress of creating this perfect person. He talks about the every day pressure on parents. (Stress, today's popular catch wor^, makes us sometime lose our focus as to what raising our MENSCH is all about! Sometimes we forget the goal of child rearing is "equipping our children with the emotional tools necessary for be?coming happy responsible and caring adults". In Judaism this translates to "menschlichkeit". This touched a chord in my soul because what else could we want for our children! Parenting, a most normal part of life, can be problematic and frustrating, i understands the normal trials and tribulations of parents, yet raising a MENSCH is worth it! As a parent, how many times have you felt between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea? This book helps one understand that the pain and joy are are all worth it! I hope you read this book. Rabbi Kurshan gives parents direction ina crazy Future Shock world. This book is not a "how to" book but rather one that talks of values, ethics and morals. Raising Your Child To Be A Mensch is available through your neighborhood Las Vegas - Clark County Library District Library.