Praying With Lior - A Documentary by Ilana Trachtman

This is a photo of Jeff and Jennifer with their rocking, singing grandmother (my mom!) It illustrates the feeling of family that was obvious in the film, "Praying With Lior." I've been waiting to see this documentary since someone recommended it to me in February. It tells the story of Lior, a Jewish boy who is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. Lior's mother was a rabbi, and when he was little, she rocked, and sang the prayers in the Psalms to him with much delight and enthusiasm. He grew up loving the beat of the music, and began making the prayers lively for the worshiping community. ~~~ An Excerpt from "Journey With Jeff"~~ "And all your children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of your children." Isaiah 54:13 (Jewish Bible.) "Meanwhile, Jeff continually surprised us with his understanding of God's love and presence in our lives. One evening we were singing around the table after supper and were astounded when he seemed to know all the words of the first verse of 'Beautiful Savior.' How we praised him and cheered him on!! An Easter service on TV caught Jeff's ear. 'Church!' he exclaimed. There was a wide grin on his face when he recognized the 'Hallelujah Chorus.' At our own Sunday worship, he often sat with a friend and his family, whose mom said Jeff was a good, quiet exmple for her own children. Wow! Thank You, Lord!! Jeff learned the motions to 'Jesus Loves Me' at Sunday School and combined them with his record at home. He clapped at the word yes in 'Jesus Loves Me' to convince me to start singing it with him from the beginning. He also enjoyed the music and motions for 'Climb, Climb Up Sunshine Mountain,' and 'Two Little Eyes.' We were glad to see this really meant something when Jeff was sick with a cold and couldn't breathe. He'd implore me to, 'Talk to God, Mom!' The Amen at the end of our prayer was emphasized by his quiet, 'Yeah!'" The page's closing prayer was, "All praise to You, O God, for the faith You have given Jeff! Amen!" ~~~ Imagine...Jeff and Lior being good friends, and making happy Jewish music together!