We find ourselves asking a lot of questions on Kveller—things like how do you get your kid to eat anything other than mac and cheese, and is it really OK to skip a bath (or four), and what the heck is Snapchat?
When it comes to raising Jewish kids, there’s a whole other slew of questions (and unlike the seder, a lot more than four). Things like how do you get your kids actually excited about the holidays, or what if I don’t want to have a bris for my son, or what the heck is Shavuot?
But we don’t often take a step back and think about the larger questions in life—you know, those big, weighty topics that are hard to wrap your brain around, yet influence our daily lives whether we’re actively thinking about them or not.
You know, like why be Jewish?
It may seem like a funny question, but we’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, ever since “Why Be Jewish?”—a new book by the late Edgar M. Bronfman—was released this year. Edgar was an accomplished businessman (like, of the billionaire variety), owner of Seagram’s (yes, the gin), a great philanthropist for Jewish causes—and was a huge supporter of Kveller. Completed just weeks before he passed away, the book walks us through his own personal journey and how he himself comes to answer this pretty big question.
In that spirit, we’re launching a series on Kveller this month in which our writers will answer that question for themselves. We’ll also be opening up the question to our readers to pitch in, so stay tuned, and put your thinking caps (or kippahs) on!
Read More:
That Time I Accidentally Gave Birth to My Daughter at Home…in the Toilet
This Girl with Cerebral Palsy Is Changing Disability Representation in Fashion
I’m Really Bad at Saying No And It’s Stressing Me Out
