Tonight, Nicole received her Siddur. The Siddur is the Hebrew Prayer book. It contains all the prayers that are essential to Jewish life. From blessing for days of the week, Holidays, and other special occasions, receiving the Siddur indicates that Nicole has reached a sufficient level of proficiency in reading Hebrew. This is one of the first steps in her Jewish life that she has earned for herself. Mazel Tov Nicole, we are very proud of you!
Nicole is shown at right with her new Siddur. Stephanie and I decorated the cover. The tree of life is portrayed above the Leung family name in English, Hebrew and Chinese. Here is what we wrote on the inside:
Nicole, In Hebrew your name, Tari, means “new” because you brought new light to our family when you were born. In Chinese, your name, Zhi-Yuan means having the wisdom of your family roots. You are named after your Uncle Timothy and Grand Uncle Norbert.
Timothy was the first of the Chinese family born in the United States. Norbert was lost during Ha Shoah. You are our memory of them.
In Hebrew: Tari, matanach machi l’ema v’aba
English: Tari, a gift from g*d to mommy and daddy
