Discovering Jewish Diversity for Children: Almost a Minyan

 

Learning as a child, with love about different customs and approaches to the daily practice is an important step towards embracing diversity at the old age. No matter our own personal choices, acknoweldging and further on accepting that other people may have a different understanding of Jewish practice is relevant for building up a healthy realm of tolerance and mutual acceptance.

Almost a Minyan by rhymes by Lori S. Kline, and illustrations by Susan Simon, published almost five years ago by Sociosights Press can guide pre-school and first grades children towards the path of acceptance. 

A girl is watching her father every day leaving the house early in the morning to pray at shul. She is waiting for the moment when she will be counted as part of the minyan - the ten persons required for a praying quorum within the small Jewish community she is living. As her zayde - grandfather in Yiddish - died, she will replace him, by using the tallit and tefillin who belonged to her grandpa. 

Some may not be used with the idea of women wearing a tallit or kippa or tefillin or being counted as part of the minyan. Many may reject it automatically as a corruption of religious practices. Nevertheless, there are women and communities who do practice differently, including by assigning different, more diverse roles to women. Exactly what Almost a Minyan is outlining, especially by the match between old and new traditions. 

A recommended read, including for your long winter Shabbos days, or as an inspired lecture preparing for the next month of chagim.

Rating: 3.5 stars