{"id":53044,"date":"2016-02-09T11:46:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T16:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=53044"},"modified":"2016-02-09T11:46:42","modified_gmt":"2016-02-09T16:46:42","slug":"a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/","title":{"rendered":"A Letter to My Son From His First Siddur"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rabbi
Rabbi Adam Starr, his son Adin and his son’s very first siddur.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rabbi Adam Starr of the Young Israel of Toco Hills \u00a0in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote a letter to his son from the perspective of his son’s new siddur on the occasion\u00a0of his Chagigat Siddur at Atlanta Jewish Academy:<\/p>\n

Dear Adin,<\/p>\n

I am your very own siddur. I love the way you and your parents decorated my cover making me feel so special. You\u2019ve been working so hard at school waiting for this day. You were so excited to receive me. This morning you and your friends held and caressed me like a new baby, flipping through my pages with great pleasure and joy. You and your friends embraced me as if you had received the most prized possession in the world. I also like when you kiss me, especially if you drop me — but try not to do that too often.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I can\u2019t wait for us to get to know each other better. You know the Mah Tovu, Adon Olam, and Shema and there is so much more to learn. Pretty soon Aleinu, Shemoneh Esrei, and Ashrei. Right now you are slowly blending my letters into words, before you know it my words will flow from your lips. But please don\u2019t read me too quickly, treasure each of my words. Grown ups sometimes rush through my words and really should slow down; it is not a race to see how fast you can finish me.<\/p>\n

I am so lucky that I get to grow up with you. I want you to know that I will always be there for you, just remember to bring me along. Whether it is a sad time, a happy time, a difficult time, or a wonderful time, you can always turn to me to speak to Hashem. I will always have the right words, I can help you open your heart.<\/p>\n

When you daven from me you are reading the same words that Ima and Abba have davened with throughout their lives, the same words your Safti and Tahti and Safta and Papa have used and the same words that the Jewish people have used for thousands of years.
\nAnd no matter where in the world you go, please take me along. My words will be the same that you will find in any shul in the world. This means wherever you will be, you will always feel at home with me.<\/p>\n

Over the years you will probably swap me out for another siddur, I am told I even come in an APP version. But you are really not leaving me at all because I am the words on the page much more than the page and binding itself.<\/p>\n

My words are a treasure that will grow with you, guide you, challenge you, inspire you and uplift you. It won\u2019t always be easy to connect with me, but as you get older I promise you will see more and more meaning in me.<\/p>\n

Adin, I can’t wait to begin this life journey with you. Thanks for taking me along.<\/p>\n

Love,
\nYour First Siddur.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Adam Starr of the Young Israel of Toco Hills \u00a0in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote a letter to his son from the perspective of his son’s new siddur on the occasion\u00a0of his Chagigat Siddur at Atlanta Jewish Academy: Dear Adin, I am your very own siddur. I love the way you and your parents decorated my<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133133,"featured_media":53048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nA Letter to My Son From His First Siddur - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Letter to My Son From His First Siddur - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rabbi Adam Starr of the Young Israel of Toco Hills \u00a0in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote a letter to his son from the perspective of his son’s new siddur on the occasion\u00a0of his Chagigat Siddur at Atlanta Jewish Academy: Dear Adin, I am your very own siddur. I love the way you and your parents decorated my\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-09T16:46:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"237\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"395\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Adam Starr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Adam Starr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/\",\"name\":\"A Letter to My Son From His First Siddur - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-09T16:46:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/dbb6823075d81d8339cbbec646715d03\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg\",\"width\":237,\"height\":395,\"caption\":\"Rabbi Adam Starr, his son Adin and his son's very first siddur.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/dbb6823075d81d8339cbbec646715d03\",\"name\":\"Rabbi Adam Starr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rabbi Adam Starr\"},\"description\":\"Rabbi Adam Starr has been the rabbi and spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta since 2008. Under Rabbi Starr's leadership the membership has grown to 210 member units and has built a brand new state of the art synagogue building. Rabbi Starr grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and studied at Yeshivat Shalavim in Israel for two years prior to University. He received his BA from Yeshiva College and has rabbinical ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Rabbinical Seminary at Yeshiva University. Before coming to Atlanta, Rabbi Starr served as the Associate Rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale for 8 years. Rabbi Starr serves on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America and is the past President of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association. He also serves on the Southeast Regional Beth Din for Conversion of the RCA.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/adam-starr\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Letter to My Son From His First Siddur - OU Life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Letter to My Son From His First Siddur - OU Life","og_description":"Rabbi Adam Starr of the Young Israel of Toco Hills \u00a0in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote a letter to his son from the perspective of his son’s new siddur on the occasion\u00a0of his Chagigat Siddur at Atlanta Jewish Academy: Dear Adin, I am your very own siddur. I love the way you and your parents decorated my","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/","og_site_name":"OU Life","article_published_time":"2016-02-09T16:46:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":237,"height":395,"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rabbi Adam Starr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rabbi Adam Starr","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/","name":"A Letter to My Son From His First Siddur - OU Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg","datePublished":"2016-02-09T16:46:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/dbb6823075d81d8339cbbec646715d03"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-letter-to-my-son-from-his-first-siddur\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/943938_10207607467517642_2399475535990203996_n.jpg","width":237,"height":395,"caption":"Rabbi Adam Starr, his son Adin and his son's very first siddur."},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/","name":"OU Life","description":"Everyday Jewish Living","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/dbb6823075d81d8339cbbec646715d03","name":"Rabbi Adam Starr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rabbi Adam Starr"},"description":"Rabbi Adam Starr has been the rabbi and spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta since 2008. Under Rabbi Starr's leadership the membership has grown to 210 member units and has built a brand new state of the art synagogue building. Rabbi Starr grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and studied at Yeshivat Shalavim in Israel for two years prior to University. He received his BA from Yeshiva College and has rabbinical ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Rabbinical Seminary at Yeshiva University. Before coming to Atlanta, Rabbi Starr served as the Associate Rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale for 8 years. Rabbi Starr serves on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America and is the past President of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association. He also serves on the Southeast Regional Beth Din for Conversion of the RCA.","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/adam-starr\/"}]}},"acf":[],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53044"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53049,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044\/revisions\/53049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}