Caring for Judaism

Question

Hi Rabbi, my daughter went to a Yeshiva all her life till the last 2 years where there was an issue at school and ended up in Public High school. After this she changed and my daughter no longer cared for Judaism. It so bad you can’t even mention what happened on October 7th in Israel without her rolling her eyes. Is it possible for a Jewish girl to hate her religion so bad that she has a distain for it, Would she have Emunah again, What can I do to minimize this hate?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    I am so sorry to hear that your daughter had such a negative experience in school. It actually sounds as if she had a negative experience in both types of schools she went to – one a spiritually negative experience, and in the other a morally negative experience. My heart goes out to you at this difficult time and I am davening that your daughter’s relationship with Hashem and Judaism be reignited very, very soon.

    Part of me wonders at your daughter’s disdain. October the 7th was not an attack on Judaism. October the 7th was a barbaric attack on human beings. On men, women and children. It is heartbreaking to think that your daughter is so inured to the suffering of others that she does not care about the suffering and the loss of life. That the plight of those who are still in captivity is of no consequence to her. This is not a religious issue. This is a humanitarian issue. Hamas behaving in the animalistic and savage way they did should cause any caring person to stop in shock and horror.

    What can you do to try to bring Emunah into your daughter’s life? It is hard to know what to say because I do not know your daughter, and teenage years in general are often very difficult years for parents. However, perhaps the only thing that you can do right now is show your daughter your love for Yiddishkeit through your actions, and not by talking about it. I always tell my Talmidim and Talmidos that if you are not passionate about something, don’t expect anyone else to be passionate about it. Perhaps, it might be possible to show your daughter your passion for Hashem and for the Mitzvos. Hopefully, doing so it will rekindle the spark inside her.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team