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Freedom for Our Children and Our Children’s Children

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Mar 29, 2018
3 min

Freedom for Our Children and Our Children’s Children

“If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not taken our ancestors from Egypt, behold we and our children and our children’s children would [all still] be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.” This text from the Haggadah begs the famous question, “Really?” That is to say, ancient Egypt is long defunct. Had we really not been taken out by G-d at that time, probably we would have eventually gotten out of that jam when Egypt was conquered by the next up-and-coming world power. So what is the

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Nov 28, 2017
3 min

Families With Special Needs Children Need Maps

Guest post by Dr. Judith Greenberg If you are a parent of a special needs child, you may feel like you need some help but may not be sure who or what to ask. I always suggest that the best approach is to follow a map of the people you think may really want to help you, such as: your friends and family, pediatrician, psychologist, your shul, Rabbi, your child’s school, specific organizations, and most importantly, your own intuition. Age and the diagnosis of your child’s spec

Your Kid’s End-of-Year Recital

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Jun 27, 2017
1 min

Your Kid’s End-of-Year Recital

Here’s another post from me on Kveller.com which I wrote after reflecting on my kindergartener’s brilliantly produced end-of-year production. Writing this was a reminder to me as much as to any of my readers what we’re doing when we do this whole parenting thing. Hope it resonates with you too! https://www.kveller.com/recitals-seem-silly-but-heres-why-they-matter/ This week I attended my 6-year-old daughter’s end-of-the-year kindergarten presentation. Her class was up on sta

The Day I Did This with My Daughter Was One of the Best Days of My Life

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Nov 13, 2016
1 min

The Day I Did This with My Daughter Was One of the Best Days of My Life

#family #parenting

The Best Gift for Your Children

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Jan 24, 2016
1 min

The Best Gift for Your Children

I’ve recently been thinking about the adage familiar to many marriage counselors that “The best gift you can give your children is shalom bayis.” There are many reasons this is true – it is neither some crazy therapist thing nor a mystical idea. Check out a quick run-down I wrote for Aish.com here, or a longer series of posts at my Baltimore Therapy Center blog, starting here. #family #marriage #parenting

Why I Let My Daughter Listen to Rap Music

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Jul 6, 2015
1 min

Why I Let My Daughter Listen to Rap Music

#parenting

The Accidental Author – Another Article on Kveller!

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Apr 18, 2015
1 min

The Accidental Author – Another Article on Kveller!

http://www.kveller.com/how-i-became-an-accidental-childrens-book-author/ #parenting

The Mama Bear Effect – Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Coloring Pages

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Mar 24, 2015
1 min

The Mama Bear Effect – Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Coloring Pages

#childsexualabuse #parenting #sexualabuse #sexuality

The Very Special Gift

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Feb 28, 2015
1 min

The Very Special Gift

Dear Readers, I am most pleased to announce the publication of my latest book, The Very Special Gift. It is designed to help parents educate and discuss with their daughters the issue of tznius. It is targeted to early grade-school-age girls, but it probably has a good degree of flexibility in terms of getting the message across. I hope that this will be helpful to many people in addressing this vital and challenging subject with your daughters. If you buy a copy, please d

We’re ALL Exhausted

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Feb 14, 2015
4 min

We’re ALL Exhausted

My recent Kveller article entitled “I’m an Orthodox Jewish Father and I’m Exhausted” got a lot of sympathetic comments from people in the same metaphorical boat of parenthood and exhaustion. Folks shared with me their low moments, their parenting fails, their misgivings, and so on, often with more than a tinge of shame. And I responded to them, guess what? You’re just like the rest of us! Thus did I embark upon my second article on the subject, with the intent of reassuring a

I’m an Orthodox Jewish Father & I Am Exhausted

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Jan 7, 2015
1 min

I’m an Orthodox Jewish Father & I Am Exhausted

Check out my latest article on the front page of Kveller.com! I’m an Orthodox Jewish Father & I Am Exhausted #family #parenting

Parenting in the iPhone Age

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Dec 10, 2014
1 min

Parenting in the iPhone Age

Check out the Baltimore Jewish Times for my article on modern parenting: http://jewishtimes.com/31779/parenting-in-the-iphone-age/ #family #internet #parenting #relationships

New Book: "It’s Not Fair"

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Nov 22, 2014
1 min

New Book: "It’s Not Fair"

The latest in my children’s book series is now available, dealing with the favorite childhood refrain, “it’s not fair!” No doubt this will be a valuable addition to everyone’s home library and parenting toolbox! It’s Not Fair #parenting

Getting Your Kids to Eat Their Dinner

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Nov 1, 2014
2 min

Getting Your Kids to Eat Their Dinner

Here is another column from the BJH in which I answer the classic question: How do I get my kids to eat their dinner??? Dear BJH, My kids are really great overall, but the one area that never seems to work out is dinnertime. They simply don’t want to eat! It always seems to be a fight getting some food into them. How can I get them to eat their dinner properly? Thanks, GS Dinnertime is a common flashpoint between parents and kids. You are not alone! Let’s take a look

New Article in the Baltimore Jewish Home

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Oct 18, 2014
1 min

New Article in the Baltimore Jewish Home

One of the kinds of issues I am frequently called upon to help with involves relationships among parents/in-laws/grandparents. Here is a column I wrote recently in the Baltimore Jewish Home addressing such an issue. This doesn’t necessarily sound like a candidate for family therapy, but it could certainly help. These situations can be thorny, no doubt about it. #family #parenting #relationships

Positive parenting won’t make up for yelling, insulting

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Sep 18, 2014
1 min

Positive parenting won’t make up for yelling, insulting

I thought this was a powerful article about effect we as parents have on our children. Check it out: Even when the same or another parent expressed plenty of affection, researchers found the apparent harmful effects of having a verbally aggressive mother or father persisted . . . http://news.yahoo.com/positive-parenting-wont-yelling-insulting-212707632.html #family #parenting #relationships

Kids hear EVERYTHING

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Aug 28, 2014
1 min

Kids hear EVERYTHING

I felt a little bit like dirt. That is really not how I want my kids to think we look at them. We so easily overlook how perceptive our kids are from the youngest ages, and how they pick up everything we say, whether we think they are listening or not. No doubt we have used the phrase “dealing with the kids” numerous times before – look, there’s no question, they can be tough to manage. They take a ton of energy – not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. The

Parenting Help for the Common Parent

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

Jun 8, 2014
3 min

Parenting Help for the Common Parent

The following is a true story. What would you have done? Some people might have tried reasoning with the child, explaining why yelling is bad, or napping is good. This approach may be successful here and there, but the truth is that three-year-olds don’t have much of a sense of logic, and trying to reason with them often leads to frustration on the part of both parties. In general I would not recommend reasoning as the method of choice at this age. Others might simply have

My Books Are Back… with a Vengeance

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

May 27, 2014
1 min

My Books Are Back… with a Vengeance

#parenting

Masturbation

Rabbi Raffi Bilek

May 7, 2014
1 min

Masturbation

I thought this article was excellent. It discusses the issue of talking about masturbation with Orthodox boys, which I think is tragically shied away from for obvious reasons, leaving our youth to struggle with it in silence. As you are probably aware by now, I am not a fan of the head-in-the-sand approach. #community #parenting #pornography #sexuality

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