Listen, Israel!

Every night I say the Shema with Chamudi. We've done this nearly every night since he was born, which probably makes it the most sustained instance of formal prayer in my life, ever.

Saying the Shema is the last thing I do before I put Chamudi to bed. He finally begins to relax and give into the quiet of the evening as we cover our eyes and begin...

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad

Some nights its incredibly rote. I'll get to the end of the prayer and not even remember the middle. But on others I really try to think about the words that I'm saying.

That's when I realize that I'm being educated too. The way I see it the Shema is really kind of a guide to being a Jewish parent. It gives us the ultimate example of unconditional love (with all your heart and with your soul and with all your might). It teaches us to be consistent role models of committed Jewish living, wherever we are and whatever we do (in your home, as you go on the way). To place reminders of our Judaism all around us (on our hands, between our eyes). It reminds us, most importantly, to teach it to our children, lest the chain end with us.

And so, in those last moments of the day as we cuddle on the rocking chair and sing our Shema together, perhaps we are teaching each other.