Rebecca’s Prayer for President Lincoln
Although Rebecca’s father lost his right hand while fighting for the Union in the American Civil War, he is not bitter, believing that the anti-slavery cause was a righteous one and that Jews, having once been enslaved in Egypt, had a special obligation to uphold the cause of freedom. With the war over at last, Rebecca and her family cheerfully settle into their seats at New York City’s Temple Emanu-El on Saturday, April 15, 1865. There, they are shocked when the cantor begins to chant the Kaddish, the prayer for the dead, and when the rabbi announces President Lincoln’s shooting the evening before and death that morning.
Based on contemporary reports that the congregation of Temple Emanu-El spontaneously recited the Kaddish upon hearing the dreadful news of Lincoln’s assassination and death, this is a moving, somber story. Lincoln buffs will wonder why the President and First Lady are depicted by the artist as attending a play that appears to be something other than the drawing-room comedy Our American Cousin, but otherwise the illustrations complement the text beautifully. Ages 6 to 11.
