Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis visited a school this week to unveil a first-of-its-kind prayer book designed for people with learning disabilities.
It was created by the charity JWeb, in partnership with two schools for students with special needs, Gesher School and Kisharon, reported the Jewish News. The siddur will be produced in two formats and will go on sale in September.
Siddur Lakol, which translates to a “prayer book for everyone,” is the first Orthodox prayer book to use the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), according to United Synagogue, the largest synagogue body in Europe.
PECS is a nonverbal communication method that uses a set of graphic icons to help those on the autism spectrum communicate through pictures. All prayers and songs in the siddur appear with matching PECS.
During his visit to Gesher, which came just before the United Kingdom’s National Learning Disability Week, Mirvis gave each student a signed siddur of their own.
