Planting & Building: Raising a Jewish Child

by Shelomoh Volbeh

Any worthwhile, long-term endeavor must develop from sound principles and a firm foundation especially child-rearing. Planting & Raising a Jewish Child is not only the title of this 80-page text, but these two concepts Planting & Building form the foundation upon which the structure of successful child-rearing rests.
Growth is a natural, organic process, as when a seed becomes a flower, while construction is a conscientious, manual process...but both are essential to proper personal development.
Effective child-rearing involves building character and personality by cultivating a child s inner potential. This is the theme Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe develops in this seminal work on raising children.
Along the way, the author touches upon a variety of pertinent the importance of timing, setting a good example, the love component, values, responsibility, the significance of play, kindness and compassion, relating to others, choosing a school, and more. But everything emanates from the creative fusion of planting & building.
Simple yet profound, Planting & Building deals in essentials.
Full of wisdom, warmth, and human understanding, it defines the basics of effective child-rearing, and then outlines a clear plan of action for securing it.

Genres: Judaism

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with the other reviews. This book is actually a transcription and compilation of lectures given by the Rabbi in Hebrew and then translated into English later. Since this is a compilation of oral lectures, the narrative of each chapter is relatively focused and complete.

This book is intended for an observant haredi audience and makes many Yiddish and Torah references that I did not follow since I was raised reform. Still, I found it thought-provoking even if it left me feeling that I only grasped a small amount of the content since I lack the appropriate context. For someone of that audience you could probably grasp more, but even still I found it a window into the attitude and approach that haredi folk take to raising children.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, concise, and compassionately exhortative. It's like an Igeres Haramban for parents (no coincidence that it focuses much on anger and compassion). It certainly gave me pause and reflection in how I deal with my children. Any book that changes positively how you think or how you do things is a very good book. Most other parenting books are clinical, boring, off the mark, and garbage. This one is not.