Bentzy is a big boy. Every Shabbos, he goes to shul with Tatty and sits quietly next to him on the bench. Even though he doesn’t yet know to read from a siddur, Bentzy still loves going to shul.

Going to shul has an automatic effect on a child; it imbues yiras Shamayim deep in his heart. The Yerushalmi (Yevamos 1: 6) teaches that Rabi Yehoshua ben Chananya merited his remarkable spiritual greatness because, as a baby, his mother would bring him in his bassinet to the beis medrash and sit beside the window so his ears would absorb the words of kedushah.

But in order to help Bentzy – and our own children – find their special place in shul and continue loving Torah and tefillah their entire lives, we as parents must endow them with tools, understanding, and a positive shul experience. It’s important to teach children the various parts of davening, review them, and also clearly define what is and is not acceptable behavior in shul.

That’s the purpose of this story book – Bentzy the Little Bachur Goes to Shul, the first in the brand-new Ladder to Success series.