Reply To: Going off the Derech

The Goq-I’m so sorry that your father didn’t give you the love you deserved. I’m not saying my husband and I had the same relationship with our son. But we both were affectionate with him, and always told him how much we love him. I think typically, children are closer to the mother bc in general, there is more communication/affection. My son does have some anger towards us, but he connects it more to our moving to Israel, and forcing him to be religious (by being religious ourselves). I really think he got pulled in by the secular world and all its attractions, and the fact that we don’t have an extended family over here reinforcing our chinuch, he was much more vulnerable.

Speaker-I think Avi talks about the kids in the manual from Home Sweet Home, or from other encounters he may have had over the years. Funny thing is, that I always thought I was my son’s best friend. I really always enjoyed talking to him, and we used to have a lot of laughs together. In the back of my mind, I was always a little sad thinking that next year he will move out and go to yeshiva gedola…until he’s married! And I won’t see him so much anymore. I would cry just thinking about it. But now I cry for different reasons..