SOS MOM is Jewish Mom Empowerment
by Dafna Horowitz
I stare at the zoom call filling my phone screen.
The question hangs in front of me. I stare at it trying to find the answer. Searching the faces on my phone. How do I want to help connect people to the land of Israel?
An image of my mom cooking for Shavuot floats up from the back of my mind. I see her dancing to Yishai Ribo, a popular Israeli singer, as she dices onions and prepares chicken. I hear her voice asking if anyone has prepared a Dvar Torah as my brothers and I fill our plates during Friday night Shabbat dinner. I think of my parents encouraging me to go to Israel when any opportunity presents itself, and I think of the traffic-filled drives to the Israeli Day Parade in Manhattan. I think of my connection to Israel and Judaism, and how it was born from them. And I know. I know I want to help connect the Jewish people to Jewish values and the land of Israel, through family life, by empowering moms.
Jewish spirituality and love comes from Jewish mothers. King Solomon wrote “Do not forsake the teachings of your mother,” (Mishlei 1:8). Throughout Jewish history, women taught the children and inspired their love of Torah and Judaism. One Jewish value that is said daily during the Shema prayer, a key prayer in Jewish culture, is a commitment to teach our children. Teaching children Jewish values, does not only provide them with a moral compass, but it also helps provide a chain of generations.
I decided to create a mom empowerment movement, so that moms would have an easy, fun and accessible way to strengthen their children’s spirituality and connection to Judaism and Israel. As a college student I know that not every Jewish kid feels connected to Judaism, and Israel. I know that it is often a struggle to connect. I believe that moms have the power to help their children, and to help them feel connected to the land of Israel. I think it is important to make sure there are readily-available resources for moms to connect their children to Judaism and Israel.
I chose to honor all Jewish mothers by creating SOS MOM. I hope to help empower moms whilst making teaching Jewish and Zionist values exciting and easy. Just as my mom empowered me to love Judaism and Israel, as my Safta (grandmother) did for her.
And so, with the help of Israel Forever, SOS MOM was created. Utilizing the resources of Israel Forever and partner organizations, the SOS kits for Jewish mothers everywhere are a way we can make a direct impact on the hearts of families looking for a way to build a sense of belonging.
The future of the Jewish people and Israel is dependent on the younger generations. As Jews we need to help one another, and inspire each other to learn more about Judaism, our identity, and our relationship with our people and homeland. SOS MOM is one way you can make that possible.
WHAT IS SOS MOM?
SOS MOM stands for Sustaining Our Spirit.Each person who signs up for this program will receive exclusive resources in the form of SOS kits. Each person who chooses to donate to this program will help provide kits for fellow moms looking for specially prepared gift packages curated to help moms easily live, love, teach and inspire Judaism and Zionism within their families as well as themselves.
