When My Kids Grow Up

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Published: July 14, 2007

Visitor Comments: 9

(9) Kelly Woo, July 21, 2007 1:54 AM

Chief cook and bottle washer

I am a housewife (aka homemaker, stay-at-home-mom, maid, cook, tutor....)Would I want my daughter to go into this profession? I think that the answer is yes. As a woman, I have struggled all my life in the corporate world, trying to fit into the mold of what I thought I should be. But I never felt natural in that environment. Now I have found my perfect job!

(8) Steve Goldstein, July 17, 2007 10:11 PM

teachers?

I would imagine that teachers would also answer the question positively -- that they'd want their children to be teachers, too.

(7) mike, July 17, 2007 7:50 PM

excellent video rabbi

i am one of those doctors who do not want my children to go into medicine. if they want to go that will be fine. too many parents push their children into certain vocations to boost their own egos and not guide the children into fields which they probably would be better and happier in. mike

(6) Bridgette, July 17, 2007 3:17 PM

Funny

Funny, because Salomon's son does the same thing he does.

(5) judy, July 17, 2007 11:04 AM

professional?

Does someone have to make Torah scholarship their profession in order to be a Torah scholar? What career exactly would they be passing on to their children? Yes, Torah is the foundation of the world, but not comparable to other careers in your personal survey.

(4) Rosen, July 15, 2007 3:13 PM

Intrinsic satisfaction

Paychecks on a job or career are very flattering, and can help make some ends meet within a 2-week period or less, however, the amount of pay does not always necessarily contribute to higher self-esteem, because a paycheck is a tool and incentive that is used extrinsically for needed necessities and some wants. To be intrinsically satisfied with what one is doing, it is a passion, that can sometimes be transmitted to his/her children or the next akin who takes interest. Generally, people do like what they do for a living based on a poll that came out about 6 or so years ago from what I learned in a work-studies class when I was going to college. Passions can vary, based on place and attitude. If one does not like what he/she is doing, it will most likely have a ripple effect on others, particularly when it comes to customer service (poor customer service is one of my biggest pet-peeves). Hence, G-d gave us all our gift to call upon, where we have the mind, heart, and soul to find out what it is and carry it out to our children and others. Additionally, it's a good point to have some knowledge of Torah scholarship, which MUST be carried on from one generation to the other. Therefore, it's very important that Jews continually marry Jewish, as opposed to intermarrying across cultures.

(3) Beverly Kurtin, Ph.D., July 15, 2007 1:06 PM

Respect for others

My daughter came in one day when she was about 9. She was laughing about her stupid girlfriend who spoke Spanish and English. Isn't that stupid, she asked me.

So I asked her, in Spanish, why didn't SHE speak Spanish. She, of course, didn't understand. Finally, when she was close to tears, I told her that her friend spoke TWO languages while she spoke only one? So who was stupid?

I was brought up to respect other people regardless of their station in life. My parents owned a lunceonette, they fed anyone who came to them for a glass of water or a cup of coffee. "Are you hungry?" They shook their heads and immediately they prepared a meal for them and had them sit in a booth where they could be more comfortable. It was their way of respecting everyone.

She was with me one day when I stopped for a moment to say hello to the janitor in a large fancy hotel. My daughter was mortified that I would talk to "only a janitor." I explained that all human beings are related and that the janitor deserved just as much respect as did the owner of the hotel.

She has grown up to respect others. She called me recently and thanked me again for teaching her what she is now teaching her daughters.

I smiled. Then I cried tears of happiness.

Shema Yisroel, Yisroel Echod!

(2) Debora, July 15, 2007 12:12 PM

inspirational

That is it! Thanks to You Rabbi Yaakov Salomon, today I decided to be a Torah scholar. I never knew what I would be when I grow up. Now I know and I pray that God will guide me and show me the way I can do this.

(1) Anonymous, July 15, 2007 9:22 AM

I was a teacher, both of teenagers and adults. I loved what I was doing, and felt I did an excellent. What I did NOT like was the intervention of politics and bureaucracy into the job. And perhaps that is the same reason that many other professions are less enthusiastic about their jobs now, also.

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About the Author

Rabbi Yaakov Salomon

More by this Author >

Rabbi Yaakov Salomon, C.S.W. is a noted psychotherapist, in private practice in Brooklyn, N.Y. for over 25 years. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Creative Director of Aish Hatorah's Discovery Productions. He is also an editor and author for the Artscroll Publishing Series and a member of the Kollel of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath.

Rabbi Salomon is co-author, with Rabbi Noah Weinberg, of the best selling book "What the Angel Taught You; Seven Keys to Life Fulfillment," (Mesorah), and is also the co-producer of the highly-acclaimed film, "Inspired."

Click here to order Yaakov Salomon's new book, Salomon Says: 50 Stirring and Stimulating Stories.

In these marvelous stories -- brimming with wit, understanding, a touch of irony and a large helping of authentic Torah perspective -- we will walk with a renowned and experienced psychotherapist and popular author through the pathways of contemporary life: its crowded sidewalks, its pedestrian malls, and the occasional dead end street. This is a walk through our lives that will be fun, entertaining -- and eye-opening. In our full -- sometimes overfull -- and complex lives, Yaakov Salomon is a welcome and much-needed voice of sanity and reason.

His speaking, writing and musical talents have delighted audiences from Harvard to Broadway and everything in between. Rabbi Salomon shares his life with his wife, Temmy, and their unpredictable family.