Happy Hannukah

December 16, 2006 - 6:56 AM by

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So off I went to my third child’s nursery school first Hannukah party — she’s two years old. I’m sure that no nursery school teacher here is allowed to get her certificate without vowing to throw an annual Hannukah extravaganza shows, where the children, sing dance, wave around lightsticks in a dark room wearing glowing white shirts, and then gorge themselves on sugar and carbs. It’s a thrill for the kids, but the parties — really, it’s a show — are LONG. If you figure that my older two kids were both in daycare/nursery school then kindergarten for four years, I’ve now attended eight and this was my ninth.

Sounds like a lot, right? Well, then I saw this piece written by a mother of NINE. And dedicated religious mother that she is, she’d really started to lose her enthusiasm for the Hannukah parties….until her grandmother, visiting from abroad, attended one with her and changed everything.

Everything was normal; the songs, the tunes, the dances, the costume changes, flashes glared from all around us. And then, between one flash and the next, my grandmother leaned towards me and whispered: “Mali, I’m so excited…”

Another camera flash and again a whisper: “Mali you know, I’m not very young and I’m a survivor of the camps… When I sit here, with my great-granddaughter, before all these little girls singing about the land of Israel – sweet beautiful little girls – I feel as though it is my small victory against the Germans. Small, but crushing!”

Then and there I choked up. All too often I forget that this noble woman with the light blue eyes, who I call grandma, is a Holocaust survivor who lived through the hells of Auschwitz. She, the girl whose mother and sisters were murdered before her eyes, is the brave woman who raised a family so that “the strength of Israel will not lie” (1 Samuel, 15:29).

I would never presume to say that I changed in that moment, but I can tell you that when the party ended I asked to say a few words. I rose from my seat, cleared my throat and began: “Dear teachers and guests, do you see this woman beside me? This is my grandmother, who survived Auschwitz, who endured hunger and loss, abuse and labor and the death marches. She was blessed with what six million others were not, she lived. And all that has been worth it, if only for the party that you, dear teachers, are responsible for. It’s difficult for her to speak now, but I can assure you that she has enjoyed every minute, and she will treasure these moments in her heart forever.”

And without shame I let the tears run down my cheeks, as the tears of other mothers and the teachers flowed with mine.

Suddenly I find myself, yes, me the anti-party mother, waiting expectantly for the next holiday.

At my daughter’s party, the husband of the couple who runs her gan got up and mentioned reading this essay in its original Hebrew in Yediot Aharonot. And he confessed that it wasn’t easy year after year to get the motivation to put on these big productions. But he said that this year, it was particularly important to have happiness and light, and show the world that children in Israel were alive and thriving, surrounded by light and love, no matter who hates them, no matter who wishes them ill. And he was right.

Tags: • Category: Holidays 

Comments

4 Comments on Happy Hannukah

  1. Matthew Warren Smith on Mon, Dec 18th 2006 8:29 AM

    2. I am actually a Christian, and I have to say that this is truly, truly beautiful. how wonderful the God we serve that all of His promises are Yes and Amen. it is truly remarkable how the Jewish people have survived all of these centuries with integrity, blessing, vision, celebration, and hope for the future. wonderful reference from 1 Samuel by the way…it’s one of my favorite books in the Torah. :)

    Love in Christ,

    matthew smith

  2. aliyah06 on Mon, Dec 18th 2006 7:37 PM

    3. Words fail me. I will never look at a Chanukah party as a chore again. Thank you!

  3. Liza on Tue, Dec 19th 2006 1:04 PM

    4. I attended my son’s nursery school Chanukah party last night, and it was definitely one of the highlights of my week, if not my month. His excitement became my excitement, and it was a joy to watch this beautiful group of children having so much fun celebrating Chanukah. I hope I never reach the point where I see these events as a chore.

  4. deborah amaral on Tue, Dec 26th 2006 10:42 PM

    5. I am not a Jew, my father was and I grew up in a “half” Jewish house.

    This story has touched my heart, and brought a tear to my eyea as well.

    We should always remember the “real” meaning of all Holy Days.

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