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 take pictures at happy occasions and we make yearbooks. These are ways in which we try to remember events or experiences. Something in our psyche intuits that there is significance beyond the present moment. It’s this drive that leads us to think about the mark we want to make in this world. Is it one of being selfish or one of fairness and kindness to all?

Torah portion V-zot Habrachah contains Moses’s parting words, his last wishes to the Jewish nation. He gives blessings, instructions, and direction. He reminds them of their individual roles as tribes along with their collective mission as a nation. His job as a leader never ends, and near his death he continues to inspire.

Think about the messages you would like to be known by. What instructions would you have for yourself, your family, and friends? How do you want to be known? Will your words be uplifting and motivating to yourself and others? We all keep developing, and we can have a profound impact on our world. How is that we want to be known?

TALK TO YOUR KIDS about how they could improve in their relationships.

CONNECT TO THEIR LIVES:

• Could you be nicer to your brother or sister?

• Could you be a better member of your classroom?

• Do you treat your friends the way you would like to be treated?

• Do you act respectfully to your parents and grandparents?

• How does it feel to tell someone you are sorry for the way you may have treated him/her?

By Rabbi Moshe Becker

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