We always tried to celebrate the Jewish Holidays as a family. Starting when our children were young, it soon became apparent to us that it was much better and much more meaningful if as part of our celebration, we discussed each holiday with each other, talking about why the holiday is celebrated, its origin and history, how it is celebrated and very importantly its meaning, relevance and value to us today and what we can learn and use in our everyday lives.

We wanted the children to feel and understand that the holidays were important for them and each holiday had meaning and value for them and should be celebrated by them for its own sake, not just because they wanted to please their parents and grandparents.

Over time we wrote up these discussions and added information for each holiday for our family use. At the urging of many family members and friends who have since seen and liked this material, we would now like to share it and make it available, with this book, for others to use.

In the book, emphasis is placed on purpose, meaning, value, joy and inspiration for each holiday and our daily lives.

We feel confident that the reader will find this material as valuable and useful as we have for helping to celebrate and getting the most out of the Jewish Holidays.