“
Halleli Nafshi: A Weekday Siddur
for Children
, edited by Rabbi Amy Bardack and Rabbi Beth
Naditch (Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston, Aug.)
is the traditional prayer book redesigned to be accessible to
children. Big, bold typography and colorful pictures drawn by
Solomon Schechter students fill the pages. Prayers are accompanied
by kid-friendly translations as well as thought-provoking questions
and explanations to spark reflection and discussion.”
~ Publishers Weekly, May 23, 2012
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“The collaborative effort of Rabbi
Amy Bardack and Rabbi Beth Naditch,
Halleli Nafshi- A Weekday
Siddur for Children
is a bilingual (English/Hebrew) work
offering young readers gender-neutral, interpretive translations
focusing on central meanings for each prayer, and
kavannot
(meditations) fostering personal reflection.
Halleli Nafshi
provides explanatory introductions to each section of
tefillot
and child-accessible, poetic language enhanced with full color
illustrations by children. Embellished with a glossary of English
religious words and symbols of choreography,
Halleli Nafshi
is a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, family,
and synagogue Children's Judaic Studies Literature reference
collections.”
~ Midwest Book Review, Childrens Book
Watch, August 2012
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“This is an elegant, versatile,
and user friendly
siddur
that can serve in a day school
setting as well as in supplemental schools and for junior congregations.
Created by the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston,
it is appropriate for all non-Orthodox settings and may be used
in modern Orthodox settings as well. Some especially attractive
features of this
siddur
include: a child-friendly size
and shape, a colorful, easy-to-clean cover, beautiful and relevant
student-made illustrations, English translations and interpretations
that children can understand and relate to, meditations or
kavannot
for many of the prayers that will help children personalize
the prayer experience, helpful, unobtrusive headings for the
blessings of the
amidah
, and elegant and easily legible
fonts in both English and Hebrew. Most of the prayer texts are
complete but some of the psalms are excerpted. However, any
skilled
tefillah
leader could supplement the texts in
this
siddur
with the full texts as desired in any particular
setting. Despite the price tag, this new
siddur
is highly
recommended for all day schools, Hebrew schools, and junior
congregations.”
~ Association of Jewish Libraries,
Nov-Dec Newsletter, 2012
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“I believe that
Halleli Nafshi
is one of the most remarkable siddurim ever created, certainly
for children, and possibly for adults. The siddur succeeds in
integrating art, color, text, commentary, meditation, and exercises
for spiritual growth, all into one coherent whole. The editors
have succeeded in transforming the siddur into a workbook for
spiritual development, which I believe was one of the original
intentions of our prayers.”
~ Rabbi Josh Elkin, Founding Director, Partnership
for Excellence in Jewish Education
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“We have long needed a prayer book
suitable for young children, and now we have one.
Halleli
Nafshi
is a marvel. Its decor is esthetically appealing,
and its translations give young worshippers the message that
the prayers articulate their deepest hopes and concerns.”
~ Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of
When Bad Things Happen to Good People