Picture This

An extremely unconventional birthday cake request, this rebus cake was definitely one-of-a-kind. (A rebus, for the uninitiated, is a puzzle in which words are represented by combinations of pictures and individual letters. A little imagination is generally required to solve it, since the pictures frequently only suggest a particular sound or idea.) The birthday boy was only 8 so the challenge was to make the rebus slightly difficult but not impossible for him and his friends to decipher. Oh, and did I mention that the rebus needed to spell out a Hebrew message?

For those of you resolved to crack it, let me just say that the only pieces of information you need (aside from a familiarity with Hebrew) are that the guest of honour’s name is David and the photograph in the centre is of the boy’s brother. Begin solving in the top right corner and continue to the left.

For readers just looking for the answer, see * below. For the puzzle solvers, here’s some filler so you don’t accidentally catch a glimpse of the solution.