Bless Your Children

It is customary for parents to bless their children on Shabbat in conjunction with the lighting of Shabbat candles.  This is one thing that I wish I had done every Shabbat.  When our kids were younger (they are now 19 and 23), I used to make sure that we had a special Shabbat dinner every Friday night.  It usually consisted of challah, a roast chicken, some form of potato and sparkling apple cider.  We didn't always light candles. We never blessed the kids.

I have often felt guilty (THERES a useless waste of energy) that we didn't make  Shabbat more special.  I love the idea mentioned in this piece of saying something to each child about a thing they did that week which made their parents proud.

Shabbat, as Heschel reminds us  is a 'cathedral in time'. A special time for reflection and study.  This weekend we are gathered with friends at a small  cabin in Maine to spread the ashes of a beloved friend on a lake which meant the world to her.  This will be an extraordinary Shabbat.

Oh to have those earlier Shabbats back.  Over the past couple of years, I have made sure to wish my kids, while away at college, a happy Shabbat.  The simple act of making the wish reminds ME that Shabbat has returned, and with it, the obligation to slow down, study and reflect.  And bless my children.

Shabbat shalom!