Chinuch: A New Chapter

I want to talk more about chinuch. 

I know I’ve said that before, but haven’t shared much yet. 
There’s a reason for that.

Over the past three years or so, life has taken me and my family on a unique journey. 
And as I contemplated sharing my ideas, I doubted whether my unusual perspective would resonate with others, making me hesitant to share.

So I attempted to frame my ideas in a more mainstream point of view; to share what I learned from my unique journey, but without explicitly sharing the journey itself. 

It took me some time to realize, after finding myself at a loss for (publishable) words more often than not, that that isn’t the way. I am my journey, and my journey is me. And I don’t show up as myself, who is left for me to show up as? 

I have resolved to make a 180 and just write it how it is. From now on, I’ll write from the heart, sharing my thoughts and experiences genuinely. I’ll focus on being true to myself and my journey, knowing that like-minded individuals will connect with my words, and hopefully gain some insight they can apply to their own lives.

But let me explain.

* * * 
The latest chapter in my story begins with this article, originally written for the Embrace magazine, a Bais Rivkah High School alumni publication. It talks about how we came to pick up our family with 7 children and move upstate to Ellenville, NY, for a new life on shlichus. It talks about the main lesson we learned in the process: that chinuch does not mean a school, does not belong to a school, and that it was truly up to us, the parents, to provide a proper chinuch to our children.

I don’t want to say too much at once, so I’ll leave it here for now. Read it now, and I’ll be back in a day or two with the next part of the story.

Looking forward to exploring together!

<3 Chaya