Got it backward

While reading last week’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah Supplement, I was sadly struck by the “checklist for advance preparation,” which began with the following: “Three Years in Advance: Join a congregation/book the date for the sanctuary; put your child on the learning and mitzvah track.”

Actually, a Jewish child should be “put on the learning and mitzvah track” from the moment he or she is born. A couple that wants to create a Jewish home should join a congregation at the very beginning of their marriage. The beauty of our Jewish heritage should be a part of our daily life always, and not just because we need to book a room and get a child interested in the Jewish part of his life.

If we are truly invested in a viable future for our people, we would be foolish to miss the opportunity of teaching our children the beauty of our traditions during those impressionable young years of their lives.