Shalom Yeladim,

Once upon a time there was a Jewish shepherd boy, who loved to whistle as he led his flock of sheep. He didn’t go to school and didn’t know how to read or write, so he spent most of his days listening to the sounds of nature and admiring the beauty of the world.
One day, in early autumn, he joined the people who walked to the synagogue for Rosh Hashana prayers. He could hear a father reminding his son to behave properly, as this is the day the whole world is being judged, and each person is being judged for the rest of the year. As he entered the synagogue, he could sense the great excitement of welcoming the New Year, yet he could sense something else. He could sense repentance and awe, fear and love – he couldn’t name his feelings, but the turbulence inside is heart was about to explode. He saw everyone holding the prayer book, the maxzor    (מַחְזוֹר), and praying with much intention. So he took a book, but couldn’t read, as he didn’t even know the shape of the letter Alef (א). He actually held the book upside down and stared at it and his thoughts wondered.
Suddenly, he couldn’t hold his feelings; his love for the world and for G-d flooded his heart and soul. So he did the only thing he could do well – he WHISTLED!!!

All the people looked at him – How can he be so ignorant? How dare he disrespect and defile this holy place on this holy day. Some people even wanted to banish him from Shull. But the Rabi ran to him with glowing eyes, took his hand and led him to the Bima (בִּימָה, a high platform where the Torah reader stands). After the prayers he turned to his congregation and told them that the celestial court was about to judge the people and the world for the worse, but when the boy’s whistle was sounded, his purity and true love for G-d opened the heavenly gates and the prayers of Israel were finally heard.

Dear children – Would you like to be able to recognize the shape of an Alef and other Hebrew letters? Would you like to understand, read, and write Hebrew at all levels? If so, you are welcome to join our online Hebrew classes for kids, and meet our online Hebrew teachers from Israel.

שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה!
Shana tova ‘umetuka!
Good and Sweet Year!

שִׁירָה כֹּהֵן-רֶגֶב
Shira Cohen-Regev
The eTeacherHebrew Team