REBECCA'S PRAYER FOR PRESIDENT LINCOLN

A Jewish girl living on New York City’s Lower East Side reels in the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

When Rebecca’s father left to fight in the Civil War, he said, “We Jews, who were once slaves in Egypt, we, especially, should never let a human being be held in slavery.” Though he lost a hand, he’s still firmly supportive of Lincoln but realizes that some people are nursing feelings of anger. “Anger from those who still believe that they ought to own their fellow humans. And anger from those who were left so long in slavery.” On Friday night, April 14, 1865, while Lincoln attends a play at Ford’s Theatre, Rebecca’s family observes the Sabbath. Rebecca has a strange feeling as she watches the candles flicker. The next morning, she and her family go to Temple Emanu-El. Suddenly, the rabbi arrives and says something to the cantor, who begins to sing the prayer for the dead, the Kaddish. The rabbi announces that Lincoln is dead, and the whole congregation begins to recite the prayer. This tale is rooted in historical events; as reported by the New York Times, those at Temple Emanu-El did indeed say the Kaddish. The choice to frame the events as a work of fiction narrated by a young girl directly touched by the war provides emotional resonance to the straightforward text. Rebecca’s family presents white in realistic, though static, illustrations.

Highlights an intriguing aspect of Jewish American history through a child’s eyes.