Family Dinner Dates

Two of the learning outcomes for Religious Education are learning about religion and learning from religion. When we study Judaism we discover that the family has a key role to play in life. Many Jewish adults will talk fondly of their family upbringing which was rooted in being together as a family and often including grandparents and that they have tried to ensure their children have similar experiences of family life. Jews eat the weekly Sabbath meal together and The Sabbath is a day when they do no work and spend the day together as a family. The annual Passover meal is eaten together as a family. For many Jewish people the kitchen is the most important room in the home as it is where family meals are prepared and the family gather before and after the meal.

Many families in our society can learn from this. It seems normal not to sit at the table to eat these days and many families watch TV whilst eating. People are busy using their technology at the meal table. Our daughter, partner and grandson moved in with us earlier this year whilst they had their house refurbished. We all work different hours and have varying interests but we have managed to eat together at least once almost every day. It is the only time ‘the technology’ is forgotten and it is a time for catching up, sharing and conversation. We have discovered, like the Jews, that meal times can nourish both body and spirit.