A Prayer Book

The Israeli education system separates "religious" and "secular" families, via a system of “state religious” or “state secular” schools. My husband and I were not at all comfortable with the options available to us because of this and, as our eldest son reached school age, fought tooth and nail to get a place for him at the Yachad ('Together') school, a school where secular and religious students grow up together, and which promotes Jewish dialogue and education in an environment that integrates children from different Jewish backgrounds.

One of the many wonderful things about the school is that the kids all say their tefillot (prayers) together every morning, regardless of their background. This evening my youngest son, who entered first grade last September, will have his Mesibat Siddur, or Siddur Party, when he will receive his very own siddur (Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers)... and this is where the crafty element comes into it!

Two weeks ago every family with kids in the first grade was given a green cover for the prayer book, some fabric and thread and was asked to prepare a cover for their child's book. I am in my element with projects such as these and, though my sewing skills are a little rusty, quickly set to work.

My son's cover, above and below, shows a kid (a young goat). My son's name is Gadi, a variant of Gad, which in Hebrew means luck. It was the name of one of Jacob's (the biblical father of the Jewish people, and the source of the name 'Israel') twelve sons, and of one of the tribes of Israel (each tribe is named after one of Jacob's sons). It also happens to mean 'kid', and therefore was the obvious choice as an illustration for the cover. My son requested the olive branch. The Hebrew lettering says 'Gadi's Siddur'.

Gadi hasn't seen his personalised cover yet. We were asked to send them to school wrapped up so that the children will be a surprised this evening. I hope that he likes it and will use it and treasure it for many years to come.