Dear Parents,
I often hear from parents how hard it can be to talk to children about God and I want to say: you are not alone. These conversations can feel overwhelming, especially when we don’t always have clear answers ourselves. But your willingness to show up, to listen, and to explore these big questions with your child(ren) matters deeply. You don’t need to be a theologian to help your child build a meaningful relationship with God, you just need to be present and open. Here at the Jewish Theology Hub, we hope to support you in this sacred work by offering accessible tools and ideas that can spark reflection and conversation. Your involvement in your child’s spiritual journey can nurture a sense of wonder, connection, and belonging that will stay with them for life.
​
Remember, you got this! And we've got you.
What you'll find here...
A story to inspire you on your journey...
A man came to his rabbi and said: "Rabbi when I was a child, I felt very close to God. Now that I am older, it seems as if God has left me, or perhaps it is I who has left. In either case, I feel far from God. I am not sure what to do." The rabbi answered him, "When you teach a child to walk, at first you stand very close. The child can only take one step, and then you must catch him. But as he grows, you move further and further away, so that he can walk to you. God has not abandoned you. Like a good parent, God has moved further away, but is still close by, waiting for you. Now you must learn to walk to God.
​
Dear Parents,
​
You have the most sacred job in the world - you are raising the newest souls, the youngest of the generations, children who will grow into the next adults. In your hands rests not just their health, learning, and character, but also their sense of wonder, their moral compass, and their spiritual imagination.
In the book, Teaching Your Children About God, Rabbi David Wolpe writes, “Children are not born with a conception of God. They borrow ours until they can build their own.” Your children are listening - to your words, yes, but even more so to your silences, your habits, your expressions of gratitude and awe, your struggles and your sincerity. They absorb the way you talk about right and wrong, love and fear, hope and despair, and the way you speak (or don’t speak) about God.
​
Even if you feel uncertain about God, or if your own theology is complicated, your willingness to engage still matters deeply. In fact, your honesty and curiosity give your children permission to explore too. You don’t need perfect faith, only presence. Only care.
​
A spiritual life doesn’t begin with answers. It begins with a sense of wonder. Our children naturally experience moments of sanctity: in play, in nature, in dreams, in stories. Sometimes they need us to help name those experiences as sacred. Other times, they simply need us to hold space for the questions, to show that questions themselves are holy.
​
Spiritual education is not a luxury or an afterthought. It is as vital to a full life as intellectual or emotional development. It teaches children to pause, to wonder, to trust, and to wrestle. It gives them language for mystery, and a framework for meaning - not just what to believe, but how to search.
​
You don’t need all the answers. You don’t need a perfect theology. Our tradition doesn’t ask for blind belief or even certainty. It asks for struggle, for a commitment to the search. What your children need most from you is your presence - your willingness to be honest, curious, and open with them. They need to see you seeking, and to be invited into the journey with you. In Wolpe’s words, “To teach about God, you do not have to have all the answers. You only have to care.”
​
Let this be a space where you can explore, too. A place where you’re not just a parent guiding your child’s faith, but a seeker nurturing your own.
​
Because nurturing a child’s faith begins, in part, by tending to your own.