My precious Hannah is a second grader at Solomon Schechter Day School.  This means lots of wonderful learning and growing and making friends.  In our family, and at this school, it also means an event of great magnitude.  The Siddur Ceremony.

A ceremony in which they receive their first Hebrew prayer book.

Since our oldest, Noah, was born, I have wanted to give my children a sense of ‘knowing’ that was nurtured in me growing up.  ‘Knowing’ God on a personal daily level.  This ‘knowing’ is not limited to just one religion.  Nor, is this ‘knowing’ the rigid, punitive shoved down your throat kind.  No, I want my children to ‘know’ God as always with them, always listening to what they want to share, and ALWAYS loving them no matter what.

Prayer has been a daily part of this nurturing.  I pray with my children every night.  I sit with them at the end of the day and call the Angels to stand guard around them while they sleep.  I sing “Shema” to them in Hebrew,  “Listen O Israel, The Lord is our God, The Lord is One”.

And they pray every day at school.  They call it T’fillah and it is the Jewish morning prayer service.  They learn to sing the Hebrew prayers, and read the Torah.  It is done in a way that keeps it joyful and inviting.

So the excitement of receiving their first Siddur is something that has been building since first grade.  Hannah was more excited about this than Hannukah this year.  Noah and Micah helped by replaying the memories and excitement of their own Siddur Ceremony.   She had been rehearsing special songs and dances at school to perform.  She wrote her own personal prayers and all the children used the microphone to speak these aloud to a crowd packed with family and friends.

We also prepared at home.  We went shopping to let her pick out a dress she could feel special wearing.  We took a nice bath and did her hair.  We got a good night’s sleep.

As I write about these moments to mark and remember them for myself, I would describe this Siddur Ceremony as a heart explosion.  It is so beautiful to see and hear 60 some sweet second graders sing and dance together that it fills your heart up to bursting.  Then when they courageously stand in front of the microphone and speak their own personal prayers, their heart, your own heart just explodes into pure joy.