All About the Mother-in-law

By Yedida Peretz, Ynet

The community council of Jerusalem neighborhood Har Nof recently launched a new workshop for wives and mothers-in-law. Included among the topics on the syllabus are how to avoid being bossy towards your daughter-in-law and maintaining family boundaries.

The idea for the workshop, aimed at haredi women, came from a neighborhood resident who deals in marriage and family counseling. The workshop is intended for older women whose sons are married to younger brides.

Within the workshop framework, the participants learn how to be “good mothers-in-law” and to develop good relationships with their daughters-in-law and their sons. The studies deal with methods for preventing conflict and unnecessary tension with the love of their sons’ life.

The workshop is being put on as part of the activities of the Jerusalem Association of Community Councils and Centers’ project called Time Bank, which is taking place in 13 community centers throughout the city.

In the Har Nof community center, for instance, more than 80 women offer to swap their services such as lessons on how to take care of physically or mentally disabled children. They also hold evening meetings for women only, cooking workshops for the holidays, and trips throughout the country.

The Time Bank activities allow participation in community activities in exchange for time invested on behalf of the participant in place of money. The exchange is done on the basis of the amount of time spent in an activity, and not on the activity’s contents.

For instance, a participant who plays the piano well can offer another member an hour of piano lessons in exchange for an hour of help cleaning the house or an hour of walking the dog.