Jacobs talks about her book and life as a Jewish mother

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Meredith Jacobs is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Haverford, and she holds a master’s in marketing from Johns Hopkins. She is the co-founder and CEO of Modern Mom Inc., a parenting columnist, editor of www.modernjewishmom.com and author of “The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat” (Harper, 2007). She lives in Rockville with her husband and two children.

Q: How is having Shabbat each week a practical parenting tool?

A: What really drew me to it was I started hearing other women talking about what it was like, [that] it kind of insured that [their children] were home on Friday night. When I started, my kids were little, but I thought I could start instilling in them that there was this special time each week. [Doing] this with my family now set a pattern, a ritual. My husband is a lawyer and has a long commute and doesn’t often get home for dinner, but he made a commitment to be there if I did Shabbat.

Q: What about “practical Judaism”?

A: A lot of the teaching of Judaism is practical; having Shabbat is practical because it strengthens us as a family. We don’t talk about work, we don’t nag the kids, and we don’t gossip. It’s a cocoon of time.

Q: Do you think you are filling a need that was out there waiting?

A: It definitely did because my book sold to HarperCollins six weeks after I submitted it to an agent, which is unheard of. Whether it’s a response to the violence of our times or the materialism, people are looking to slow down, to pay attention to their families and relationships. They realize there’s wisdom there in the old traditions; that maybe there’s something valuable to learn from something that has lasted so long, that they can bring peace and security.

Meet Meredith Jacobs

Meredith Jacobs will be signing “The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat” at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Borders at White Flint Mall.

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