Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Blessing Cup

Polacco, P. (2013). The blessing cup. New York: Simon & Schuster Books
for Young Readers.

As a young Russian Jewish girl in the early 1900s, Anna and her family lived in fear of the Czar’s soldiers. The family lived a very difficult life and had only a few possessions. However, one thing treasured is the family’s beautiful china tea set, given to Anna’s parents at their wedding.  The set came with a hope:“Anyone who drinks from this will have blessings from God. They will never know a day of hunger. Their lives will always have flavor. They will know love and joy and they will never be poor.”
When Anna’s family leaves Russia for America, they bring the tea set and its blessings as a source of heritage and security. The tea set helps Anna’s family make friends and find better lives in America. A cup from the tea set—The Blessing Cup—became an anchor of family history, and it remains a symbol of lasting love more than a century later.

This beautiful story can be used to talk about family history, traditions, immigration, and Jewish history.
For more on Jewish learning, click here.


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