Over the past few Sundays, the Oholei Torah ballroom played host to the siddur parties of the school’s Pre-1A students. Children of the six classes taught by Rabbis Barnet, Edelman, Goldstein, Rosenberg, Schtroks, and Zaetz, attended the parties, adorned in custom-made hats and were called up to receive their very first siddurim.
The parties were the culmination of the boys completing their learning of the Aleph Beis, and parents, family members, and friends watched on in the crowd in celebration of this important achievement.
At the ceremonies, the Pre-1A kids gave performances of the 12 Pesukim, sang songs related to receiving their siddur and to Adar, and were called up to read out some prepared lines. Afterward, one parent from each class delivered a dvar Torah, eagerly listened to by the boys in attendance. The excitement in the ballroom was palpable as each boy walked up to the podium to shake hands with Rabbi Shimshoni and their rebbi and be handed their very own siddur, a moment they will likely never forget.
The siddur parties were capped off in festivity, with dancing — parents and family joining in with the children and teachers in the happiness and enthusiasm of the occasion. And now that the Pre-1A students have learned the Aleph Beis, they are ready to start using their brand new siddurim to daven every day, and equipped with their knowledge of reading, to continue in the path of learning Torah as well.
