They Are All Our Boys

The Brooklyn Wolf and Ezzie have both put up terrific posts that discuss the "forgotten boys" of our community- those who do not have a father or grandfather to take them to shul, learn with them, or attend "father-son" nights with them at school. These children feel left out, marginalized, forgotten. The pain is also felt acutely by their mothers, whose ability to help is severely restricted by mechitzas and male-only Orthodox rituals, and whose sense of pride or guilt often prevents them from directly asking for help (trust me on this one).
But make no mistake about it. These mothers do want you to help. Look around your shuls and your neighborhoods and find the boys who sit awkwardly in shul by themselves, or worse, don't come to shul at all because they are too young or unhappy to go by themselves. Invite them to sit with you, help them find the right page, introduce them to other members of the shul. Treat them as you would treat your own son, because after all, they are all "our" boys.