MEET THE PARENTS

Raising kids Jewishly adds a layer of responsibility and opportunity to all of the other demands of parenting as parents navigate a wide set of choices about everything from the songs they play during holidays to how they talk to their kids about the Holocaust and antisemitism. For many parents, these aren’t just responsibilities; they’re a Jewish practice in and of themselves as they aim to support their children in inheriting and contributing to Jewish tradition. To explore these ideas, the Shalom Hartman Institute is launching Perfect Jewish Parents, a new show about the joys and oys of raising children Jewishly.

To kick off this first season, hosts Joshua Ladon and Masua Sagiv sit down with Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute and host of Identity/Crisis, to discuss what inspired this new show and what it can offer parents and caregivers.

Tune in to meet the parents and your hosts for this season of Perfect Jewish Parents!

How Do We Respond to Unanswerable Questions?

When your child asks, “Is God real” or “Am I dreaming my entire life”– is it ok not to have the “right” answer?

Scott Hershovitz, father of two and the Thomas G. and Mabel Long Professor of Law and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan is the author of Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with Kids. He joins Perfect Jewish Parents hosts Masua Sagiv and Joshua Ladon to talk about why kids are particularly good at having big conversations and how the big questions kids ask provide an opportunity to engage in curiosity and creativity.

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A transcript of this episode is available here.

Perfect Jewish Parents is a podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute about the joys and oys of raising children Jewishly, hosted by Hartman faculty and parents Masua Sagiv and Joshua Ladon.