The 'Lens' of Peoplehood

Chevre:

I hope you are all well and warm! Remember the heat in Tel Aviv??? I can't even imagine a hot, snowless place right now!

I have been thinking Peoplehood though lately and have been reminded of different lenses through which I saw the world at different points in my life. When I was pregnant, it seemed as though everyone I saw was as well. When a grandchild got glasses, so did every child in the park. My personal lens was what linked me to parts of my world.

In the last year, in teaching adults, I have found that the concept of peoplehood has enabled me to offer a new lens to people searching for a way to understand (label? justify?) their own connections to Judaism (particularly when they have unsuccessfully 'tried on' other Jewish identities). The reaction has sometimes been a variant of 'I sensed that all along but didn't know it was legitimate or had a name'.

I am now thinking about the importance of offering the exploration of the five-legged stool to families as well and that will be my project in the coming year. Given the complexity of the Jewish community in which we live and I volunteer (rural, underfunded) developing an early - and family - concept of how one might relate to the Jewish world is crucial. Avoiding the sense of not belonging, not being 'good enough Jews', not knowing enough, etc., is a real gift that peoplehood can offer!

Has anyone done anything with the peoplehood concept and elementary school families? Anyone care to spend some time brainstorming the possibilities???