Product Description

Bringing the family together every Friday night for the Shabbat meal has helped many families connect with each other, even as children grow into their teens and beyond. Having experienced the joys of Shabbat and witnessed how it has brought her family together, Meredith L. Jacobs now brings us THE MODERN MOM'S GUIDE TO SHABBAT.

Written in conversational style from one modern Jewish mom to another, THE MJM'S GUIDE will be funny and warm, brightly colored and easy to read, filled with delicious, easy recipes and family art projects, while also challenging readers with summaries of the weekly Torah portion and suggested family discussion topics, compelling readers to include discussion in their dinner as a vehicle for connecting with their children–both teaching and learning from them. It will be informative and accessible throughout.

Shabbat is a wonderful way to ensure that in this day of ridiculous schedules and pressures, that we have at least one meal per week together as a family. Shabbat is the time we turn the outside world away and connect with each other. Unlike other holidays, Shabbat is not once a year, it's once a week, giving us fifty–two chances a year to connect with our children.

Whether you are reform, conservative, or modern orthodox, newly converted or non–Jewish in an inter–faith marriage, THE MODERN JEWISH MOM'S GUIDE TO SHABBAT will teach us about traditions, making new ones, and most importantly, how to connect with our children.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #173668 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-01
• Released on: 2007-02-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author

A former director of media relations, Meredith L. Jacobs has spent the last decade creating programs and events for local charity groups, schools, and synagogues. In 2004, she developed a series of workshops about Shabbat for women's groups that inspired this book. Jacobs's monthly column on family and parenting appears in Jewish newspapers in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Phoenix, and Detroit. She lives with her husband and their two children in Rockville, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

A real how-to
I am the sort of person who gets intimidated easily when faced with something I believe everyone else knows a lot about and I don't know anything. It wasn't until I had children that I started to think about the responsiblity of creating a weekly Shabbat in my house. We'd invite guests, go over to someone's house, or sometimes, hurriedly light candles and cut the challah while moving on to another event. Back then, it would have been nice to have this book handy.

Jacobs' book makes you think about slowing down and making time to really create a meaningful Shabbat. She gives you all the how-tos, without sounding pretentious or judgemental....she simply tells you how she morphed her routine in a way that makes you feel like you can too.

One of the most important parts of the book is the parsha section, with a quick overview of the Torah portion for the week and questions to ask at the dinner table. There are recipes as well, with a whole section about making your own challah and how baking it will enhance your meal.

But best of all is her tone. It is familiar, like you are talking with a new, best friend, in a way that makes you feel she has put her arms around you and said, "You can do it. I'll help."

A fun read, very imformative, and well worth buying. It's in a place of honor next to our table, within easy reach for our Friday night discussions.

Great Book for Interfaith Families
This is a great book for any woman who is married to a Jewish man, whether she is Jewish or not. If you are seeking to add more meaning to your familly's life, or just want to know more about Jewish traditions, read this book. It is written in a casual, breezy style that makes learning about ancient religious traditions easy and non-threatening. It is filled with practical ideas to bring your family closer together.

Loved this book!!!
I got this book yesterday in the mail from amazon and I love it! I felt like Meredith Jacobs was writing about my own life. As a modern Jewish mom of 2 (1 in preschool at the JCC & the other starting in September), I started having Shabbat about a year ago. I am still working up to my actually cooking the Shabbat meal (noone ate when I tried), but now it has become a tradition for my parents, brother and his family to come over for a Shabbat. I can't wait to try to incorporate some of the great ideas from this book. I'm planning to start tonight.