This guide for connection and discussion is provided through a collaborative relationship with www.ValuesandEthics.org. Intended for parents, they can be utilized by educators in formal and informal environments to connect Torah topics to children's lives in meaningful ways.

We all want to be successful and happy and we want the same for our children but the road to success and happiness for ourselves or for our children is sometimes mysterious. If we redefine success and happiness as the blessings we enjoy now in our lives, then success becomes less tied to external things. For example, the basics such as having children, a roof over our heads, enough to eat, and work we enjoy are all blessings we might enjoy right now. We might want more for ourselves than we have now, yet it’s crucial for our own sense of happiness that we be aware of and grateful for what we have right at this moment. It’s also important to teach children to be aware of their blessings.

In our Torah portion when Moses blesses the tribe of Zebulun and Issachar, he tells them to rejoice in their journeys and in their tents. In other words, whether they are on a path or at home, it’s important to rejoice. Also, it’s important to teach our children that sometimes the journey is just as important as the end result.

The ability to rejoice is another blessing we can count in our lives. We all experience setbacks in our lives. Focusing on the overwhelming number of positives rather than on the fewer negatives, even though those negatives seem very important at the time, can foster better perspective and balance. The capacity to feel joy is tied directly to being able to enjoy the blessings we do have, and our own joy is contagious. When our children witness our ability to rejoice in what we have, they will learn to do the same.

TALK TO YOUR KIDS about the blessings in their lives.

CONNECT TO THEIR LIVES:

• What do you think could make you happier in your life?

• Have you ever been very upset about a situation but, now in hindsight, you realize that it was a blessing in disguise?

• What are five blessings in your life for which you are thankful? Why do you think it is easy to sometimes take these things for granted?

By Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses
Values & Ethics—Through a Jewish Lens is created by Fred and Joyce Claar to bring the wisdom of Judaism into family discussions.