On our recent trip to Jerusalem we went into a Judaica store to buy a tehillim for my 7 year old daughter.
She is just starting to read tehillim and I wanted to buy her something of her very own to honor this wonderful milestone. Of course anyone with small children can imagine what insued deep in the caverns of this large store. Call me brave or even slightly insane, but I do not shy away from taking my children shopping. As difficult as it may be, I really think from around the age of three children can start to understand the notion of conscientious consumerism and the value of the good old shekel.
After way too much time with the "mommy buy this" and mommy saying "please don't touch" I decided that what we really needed was a tiny model of the Bais HaMikdash. At first 14 shekels seemed a bit steep, but then I snapped to and realized that 14 shekels was a total steal for something that would help us (or hopefully at least me) remember our Holy Temple everyday and long for her to be rebuilt speedily in our days.
I told the kids that we would buy one for everyone and put it next to my Shabbos candles, for the whole family to enjoy. They agreed and we magically escaped from the store with one book of tehillim and one small model of the Beis HaMikdash.
Now the Beis HaMikdash sits next to my Shabbos candles and I can't stop thinking about what a great purchase this was. Tonight when I light my Shabbos candles I'll be sure to make my usual requests and won't forget to add something that admittedly isn't in the forefront of my mind enough, please bring us back our Holy Temple!
Maybe this was my reward for fearlessly entering a store full of fragile items with three small children, and maintaining my composure. If so, thanks!
And in case you are wondering, my Shabbos candlesticks are a collection of old brass candlesticks that were passed down to me from my grandmother and my husband's grandmother. And yes they look much lovlier when polished, but who has time for that when you're trying to get a new blog up and running?
