My Legacy
Legacy, for Jewish grandparents, is less about what we leave behind and more about how we live forward. It shows in the values we model, the stories we tell, and the ways we are present — consistently and lovingly — in our grandchildren’s lives, whether they live near or far. In ordinary moments — telling the story of Passover at the seder table, modeling Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), staying curious, showing up for community — we help give our grandchildren a sense of who they are and where they belong.
Jewish tradition reminds us that each generation is both a receiver and a transmitter. Grandparents are a bridge, linking the past with what is yet to come. When we share experiences, nurture relationships, and live our values — compassion, responsibility, and being a mensch — we shape not only what our grandchildren learn, but who they become.
A legacy is not a single message but an ongoing relationship that says, you are part of a story that started before you and continues with you.
Webinar Recording: Grandparents, Tell Your Story to the Next Generation — How to Pass on Your Legacy
In this webinar recording, Justin Mertes, co-founder of legacy-storytelling startup Parable, shares the art of preserving grandparents’ legacy across generations and how to pass on the intangible parts of their lives — wisdom, knowledge, values — and missteps.
Discover the best ways to tell your personal family story to grandchildren — through forever letters, family objects, interviews, and the art of storytelling.
The Jewish Grandparents Network Facebook Group members comment on what they want their legacy to be for their grandchildren.
Keeping the memory of a grandparent alive after their death and practical ways to shape their legacy, including Jewish traditions
The kit offers ideas and activities to bring stories to life —from family histories you hope to pass down to original tales you invent from scratch.
This Passover, take action to strengthen your connection to the Jewish future — so your grandchildren inherit the legacy you cherish.
David Raphael Note: I wrote this essay in 2010 and it was published in The Forward Two years ago, at age 79, my mother became an olah hadashah, a new immigrant to Israel. We moved her to live in the small apartment above my…
As grandparents, we think about the world we are leaving our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We face the challenges of climate change and the dwindling of precious natural resources. How can we impart to our grandchildren a commitment to repairing the world even as we spin the dreidel, light the menorah, and perhaps exchange modest gifts?
You are descended from leaders, whose faith propelled them to “do the right thing” and raise up others, as they themselves rose to success. Your great-great-great-grandparents brought others from the jaws of the Czarist army and the winds of war to safety in the United States.
It goes without saying that we love our grandkids. And we want them to grow up to be good people, open to others, accepting of differences, wise, and brave. I call this the moral imagination, and when we just hang out, love them, play cards, and schmooze—that is when we help build their character.
It was the perfectly silly Zayde game. I covered Bina, my 18-month-old granddaughter, up with the blanket and she’d pretend to be asleep. I pulled the blanket back and she giggled and announced “awake”. We did this 10 or 11 times until it was time…
This bubbie has universal wisdom that could change your approach to everyday life. We invite you to watch this wonderful Eli Talk by Jane Shapiro. Discover a personal account of Jane’s three Jewish values of Bubbiehood and their impact on family life: Tzimtzum (contraction): The overpowering…
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