Seeking a Potential Guest Reporter
OHEL Family Services is running an interesting series of lectures on strengthening families. The first lecture looks very interesting. It is entitled FINANCE AND FAMILY: MAINTAINING FAMILY VALUES IN A MATERIAL WORLD and will be presented by Dr. Norman Blumenthal, Ph.D with Opening remarks by Rabbi Kalman Topp, Associate Rabbi of the Young Israel of Woodmere on MONDAY, DECEMBER 17th 2007 at 8:00 pm Young Israel of Woodmere 859 Peninsula Blvd.
I caught the itinerary for the night at ImaMother and the questions that will be addressed are as follows:
- How do I balance supporting my family with being present in their lives?
- How to teach children strong financial values?
- How do we cope with the pricetag of living in the Jewish world?
- What are the myths and pitfalls of "keeping up with the Goldbergs?"
- When does money equal happiness?
I've written about these subjects at Orthonomics, but would absolutely LOVE to have a reader of my blog write a guest post for me about the event and the answers offered by the speaker. Anyone want to be a guest poster? (Sorry, I can't offer any pay. My last name is not Goldberg :) ).
3 comments:
Just curious, do you think that an event like this is stigmatized because it's offered by Ohel? I normally associate Ohel with people/families in crisis - foster care, drug abuse, sexual abuse, etc. I would hope that setting financial priorities and perspectives is as much an essential offering before they get into a crisis situation as once they're in it.
This year, our shul ran a 3 part financial education series on budgeting, spending, setting realistic expectations within the context of a frum family. We were ridiculed by many (including some within the shul) as turning into Learning Annex instead of a Beit Medrash. I share the view of the shul leadership that any community who ignores these issues does so at their peril - if we expect families to support communal institutions, we'd better educate them to be able to support themselves first. I'm glad to see that another event in this vein is being held.
I hope no one who goes feels stigmatized. If I was to be in NY on that day, I would go. Like you said, we need to be able to take care of our families and information and behavioral changes are necessary.
Dave-Would you be able to report on your own shul's program (or the ridicule of it). As far as I am concerned, a shul is far more than just a place to daven and learn, it is an important institution and should be a meeting place for other communal needs.
dave in dc- sounds like your shul was presenting some great programs. The quip about the Learning Annex goes to show that there are those that have a narrow definition of a shul. For some it's more than a place to shmuz during davening :)
In other circles people belong to community centers- a shul providing such lectures or using professionals from the shul itself (attorneys, accountants, doctors, mental health professionals) can only be credit worthy.
I applaud OHEL Family for running such a program - as opposed to other geographic locations which have JCCs and a stronger Orthodox connection to the UJA, UJC or other such Federations- I assume it would be they who would sponsor such an event.
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