When you live in a small community where the number of Jewish families can be counted on the fingers of one hand, you must begin to instill in your children an awareness of a Jewish identity at an early age. Such was the case when we moved to Oakley more than 10 years ago.
We started a small group of families from several nearby communities who met in each other’s houses for services and cultural exchange. Before too long, our group had grown large enough require a more permanent location. The Lutheran church in Antioch agreed to let us use its facility on Saturdays.
On our first visit to the church, it became apparent that our efforts to educate our children were paying off. While we were pulling into the driveway at the Lutheran church, our son Andrew, then 7 years old, stared up at the large cross on the steeple and proudly proclaimed, “Look Mom, it’s a `T’ for temple!”
He is now 14 years old and became a bar mitzvah last April.