Rosh Chodesh Parenting
By Rabbi Robin Podolsky
At The Well’s Los Angeles Program Manager, Rabbi Robin Podolsky, serves on the Board of Governors for the Sandra Caplan Community Bet Din, writes at TribeHerald and jewishjournal.com, advises the Jewish Student Union at Occidental College and serves as writing facilitator and dramaturg for Queerwise, a spoken word and writing group. Her most recent academic article, “Sumud Freedom Camp: Levinas’ Face-to-Face in Praxis” was published in Religions, Vol.10, No. 4. She conducts workshops, rituals and study sessions, for Jewish holidays and other occasions, that combine modalities: text study, personal work and small group sharing, writing (except on Shabbat and Yom Tov), prayer and meditation.
Rosh Chodesh presents the opportunity for deep connection - with ourselves, with the divine, and with others. For those of us with children, Rosh Chodesh presents a potential moment to connect with our children through the creation of a special space.
As you’ll hear in this video conversation, Rabbi Robin Foonberg and her daughter, rabbinical student Miriam Hoffman, began their Rosh Chodesh practice when Miriam was 8 years old. On every Rosh Chodesh evening, the two of them would go somewhere fancy for dinner. It was their special mother/daughter time in which either of them could say anything they wanted and the other would listen. Rabbi Foonberg created a safe space where Miriam felt comfortable to engage in sometimes tough or sensitive conversations with her mother. There would be no harsh reaction, no punishment. This practice took them through family crises, relocations, and Miriam’s growth into a young woman. Miriam will soon be a rabbi herself and plans that, when she becomes a mother, she will teach this practice to her own children.
We launch this video as we begin our Jewish journey into the month of Elul. Elul is a time for introspection, honesty, and relational repair. It is a time for tshuvah, for returning to the best of ourselves. The Rosh Chodesh practice that these women have built is a wonderful example in this or any month.