Giving Gifts

Okay,so what! if we give presents,if we decorate with lights and menorah, so what! in the end our light shines brighter, I do not know how many times children who happen by our home during Chanukah say they wish they could celebrate our holiday instead of theirs. We have food, draidle, lights, joy, presents, for eight nights.Our religion and our light outshines all the rest... Emunah tells us that if it were not for our G-d we would have none of this. It is all from HaShem if we can give gifts if we celebrate its all HaShem. Yes our children should be as blessed as any other child and so in the end I say SO WHAT!, it means nothing I am sure children through out history have received gifts for Chanukah I can say this because at one time candy of any sort was a welcomed delightful gift. Especially in the days when even a piece of fruit was welcomed with delight. So again SO WHAT!. Enjoy, be thankful, do not forget the reason why we do what we do and shine your light of JOY! Just one last thing if you in your heart associate any of our Holidays to pagan rituals then you are not celebrating our holidays with the right intent which nulls your effort before HaSHem. HOPE everyone gets that! Celebrate and Celebrate with thankfulness and JOY! Forget the rest of the world and their doing's. Shalom

is it true in ancient jewish culture - where rich jewish individuals would select a poor member of their community by clearing his debt. What is that custom called?

I hope to learn more soon.
It's fascinating, and amazing the
things people had to endure long ago.
And, were are all enduring at this time.

it is so refreshing reading you article about presents and chanukah. Iwish more familiers were reminded of this. Thanks

The Maccabees and Ha Shem so long ago gave us a gift.. the true story I believe of fight, light and the flight by the Seleucid Greeks from our Holy State..we do not need store bought gifts as an enticement to celebrate.. nor do we become one big marketing exercise generating billions... the story is heroic.. the symbols hard earned and profound.. and Channukah itself is a gift from Ha Shem and our sages eternally through the Ages...we singssongs of praise and thankfulness...

I agree with you, I am not Jewish but have started learning of Judaism. This year is my first without celebrating Christmas. I don't believe one should compromise with gifts because others are doing it. It is important to remember why Chanukah is celebrated and gifts are not of the them.

during the early 1900's, when my generation's grandparents grew up, the individual and communal celebration of chanukah centered on keeping the tradition of lighting the candles and telling the story of chanukah.

in my teens, i remembered studying that jews took a great risk lighting candles (be it for shabat or for chanukah) from the ex-soviet republics to moslem ruled countries.

now, in my 30's, my kids are being exposed to an untold number of matel & fisher price products thanks to marketing experts who use advertising to drive home the message that material goods (toys, gifts) will make people happy, especially during the winter season of giving.

material goods are nice, but they don't really make children happy . . . unless children get the newer model, the upgraded version of the older toy, with more features, more accessories, more this, more that . . . i suggest that too many toys only cloud the abilities of our youth to really appreciate what they do have.

i, for one, plan on deprogramming my kids, so they don't fall for what society considers to be the 'norm' of giving and receiving gifts in order to be happy, as it is too easy to spiral out of control.

this is a battle between keeping one's heritage, and staving off the indoctrination of helenization, or the modern culture that is foreign to abraham and his legacy.

Being an avid historian I really had to ponder my grand dauughters question about Chauka Gelt. I read sever commentaries about the origins of the custom, and went to this sight for help. But I must say I was not satisfied.



In looking at the core of Chanuka I felt I could ascertain a much more cogent reason, the the Jars, Coricen for education, and other esoteria.

Well the answer like most thing was staring me in the face. What was the practical essence of Chanuka. Rededication of the Temple. What did one do in the Temple? Make the Daily Sacrafices. How did a lay person do this? by buying a sacrifice. It could be a loaf of bread, flower, or a pidgen. But it was done with coin. Walla, I contend the custom arose from this. In the earliest writings about Chanuka the giving of Shkoleim/money was the custom which was always associated with the lighting of the lights. In addition the Safardium, and Eshkanazim of the old world took it as an oportunity to give their Rabbis monies, usually in small bags of coin.

A frlicha, Chag to all.

It's mostly the older generation who don't like giving/getting gifts for Chanukah. I'm 23 and have been very involved in my Jewish Community since I was little.... ALL my friends get gifts. Can't imagine not getting them. I don't get one each night, I get a whole bunch on the last night of chanukah when all the candles are lit. We have a HUGE party with family and exchange gifts. Oh and yeah, all the Jews in my area light there houses with blue and white lights and large magen davids. Devorah is probably just too old to understand.

The more we become like our Christian neighbors, the more we destroy ourselves and our community. As much as I love receiving presents, I don't think that Chanukah is an appropriate time. Of course, we should make the entire Chanukah experience wonderful for our children so that they understand that it is an important celebration, but there are ways of doing that without giving any presents.

Chanukah needs to be a special time when we protect and strengthen our spirituality, not destroy it in order to fit in.

It seems to me that Chanukah has become a "season" just as Christmas is. It is a cultural thing, of course... but what is wrong with a new cultural coming to life? The world is always changing, and this is just a new way we celebrate Chanukah. As a child I too recieved Chanukah gifts... one for each night with a big gift on the last. The weeks leading up to Chanukah we'd listen to Chanukah music, watch Chanukah movies/shows, now people even put up light (blue and white)... it IS a new culture and I personally don't mind it! I'm 25 now and soon to have my own children, and I for one will definitely keep up this "new" tradition!

I found this article as an amazing source of knowledge

As a child I received Chanuka "gelt" for Chanuka. I counted it over and over again. It was great fun.

My children, and now, Baruch Hashem, my grandchildren still receive Chanuka Gelt from us. THEY LOVE IT!!!

THIS is the "gift giving" tradition of
Chanuka as passed down to me from my parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, friends, etc.

I really like this article, it shows lke if it it talking to YOU...
And also i´m agree in everything

When I was growing up I was taught that chanuka gelt was given ostensibly to encourage and enable children to learn torah, as the oppressors tried to eradicate torah learning. (never mind that we spent the gelt on candy or toys instead of books, that was the original idea.)



I was appalled when observant neighbors started giving us gifts on Chanuka, a practice I was taught was "minhag akum" (the custom of idol-worshipers). Unfortunately, not only has chanuka gelt taken a back seat to chanuka gifts, but some people now have the custom of giving a gift every night of chanuka! (a double insult--not only does it copy the "twelve nights of xmas", but it truly encourages gluttony and self-centeredness. At least when you get Chanuka gelt, you have to give a portion of it to tzedakah (charity). who gives a portion of a toy to charity?)



Please, let's stop mimicking the non-Jewish customs and follow our own beautiful customs.

I found a reason for this custom in the Sifsei Chaim. He says in the name of the Ponezher Rov after the greeks were defeated they re-established the school system. They had to give incentives to the students to learn.

I have read your article on Chanukah gifts. Although you bring out some good points, however, I think you went a litle too far by saying that this whole concept was taken G-d forbid from the secular world. In all the generations they used to give Chanukah Gelt for the Rebeyim as well as for the children.So in many circles they changed it into gifts instead of money. Now that it has become a jewish custom we should consider it as "MINHAG YISROEL TORAH HEE". In any case I wish all of Klal Yisroel A HAPPY CHANUKAH!!!