The Meaning of Parenthood:

I'm now the father of four young children. Three sons and a beautiful daughter.

I remember clear as day though the time before I was a father. Man, was I scared! How could I be a good parent? How would I know the right thing to do? What would I teach them when I was still learning? How could I make them feel safe when I was so scared? How could I give a clear message when I was still so confused?

'I'm gonna screw him up!" I thought to myself constantly as I prepared to bring a son into this world.

As with LIFE and everything else, I found myself looking for meaning and purpose in the very existence of the difficult new role.

So, what is the meaning of fatherhood?

* Why do we need to have children?
* Why do we need to raise them?
* What are we to teach them?
* How are we to raise them?
* What is the point of it all?

While I am still struggling to be a good father and still scared every day that I'm doing things wrong and screwing these kids up, I am pretty sure I understand the meaning of being a parent.
I discovered this before my first son was born, while not yet a father.

Meaning or purpose is determined by God. God has a purpose for creating everything. So what could the purpose be for giving us children? Just to have continuity of the human species? Well, if God created the First Man from scratch, why couldn't God continue to create the rest of us from scratch with no parents? Why do we need parents? Why do we need children?

I'll get to the answer soon.

First, there is a Jewish concept that God gives human beings in this world certain gifts as a taste of something else much more spiritual. At a very mystical (Kabala) level, the idea is that one-sixtieth is the measurement of something that is considered a 'taste'. While not getting into great detail 1/60th is enough to give us an idea of that thing without actually experiencing it.

Some examples of this concept:

* Dreams can give us a taste Prophecy
* Sabbath can give us a taste of The World to Come
* Human Expression can give us a taste of Soulful Truth

And parenting can give us a taste of the love that God feels for us!

Parenting is meant to help us understand this unconditional love. It is the desire to always forgive with the understanding that justice is a necessary part of education. It is the urge to constantly help coupled with the realization that you sometimes need to let them learn for

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Recipe for a happy family life?
We want to hear your view. Write now!