On Monday June 9, Nefesh Yehudi Academy’s kitah alef had their Kabbalat Siddur ceremony. Parents, grandparents, siblings and family friends packed the main sanctuary to watch the school’s largest class (17 students!) show their understanding of tefillot and ahavat Hashem.

Like everything else this year, things were different, but the joy on the students’ faces could be seen through their masks, and the nachat of the families was tremendous. One of the benefits of COVID was the ability to include “geographically undesirable” family members via Zoom, who otherwise would not have been able to participate in this milestone. One of the most touching moments was when the students all went under a tallit held by family members to say the “shehecheyanu” bracha.

Mazal tov to the entire kitah alef, and yashar koach to all, especially their teachers, Morah Ricki Dayan and Carol Winter.