Presenting Jewish students with their first siddurim is a momentous occasion, filled with anticipation, celebration, and ceremony. At the Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ), siddurim are presented as gifts to Grade 1 students with much fanfare. On January 9 and 16, Grade 1 classes performed songs and skits for their families, rebbeim, and moros. Rabbi Mark Landsman, YCQ Principal, led each class in davening from their own personalized siddurim. Rabbi Landsman and Rabbi Michael Ribalt (Elementary School Assistant Principal of Judaic Studies) took pictures with each student to mark the special occasion.
Rabbi Ribalt reports, “This is a moment where we continue our rich and beautiful mesorah and pass it along to our students. Most importantly, they are provided with a tool that they will use for the rest of their lives, a way to directly connect to Hashem. The students have begun to experience the beauty of t’filah, and receiving their first siddur is a culmination of their first experiences of talking to Hashem. Our brachah to them is that they should use their siddur every day to engage in a meaningful t’filah, where they can speak and ask Hashem anything. This experience is a very meaningful one for all involved.”
