Gift Giving on Hanukkah

In giving gifts on Hanukkah, we try to make each gift special and appropriate to each special person in our lives.

Teaching can be understood as the giving of gifts from teachers to students and from students to teachers. The teacher offers a story to the students, and in return, the students offer an insight the teacher never had before. The teacher gives hard work and energy, and in return, the students give the wonderful gift of letting the teacher see them learn.

Here are some of the gifts I have received from my students at Cardin:

The gift of a smile
The gift of a challenge
The gift of a new interpretation
The gift of imagination
The gift of a question
The gift of an answer
The gift of a mistake
The gift of a correction
The gift of a conversation
The gift of silence
The gift of joy
The gift of acceptance
The gift of a favor
The gift of kindness
And the gift of a basketball team to cheer for

Gift giving is at the heart of what makes a learning community, indeed at the heart of all caring and loving relationships. So, keep the gifts coming and I will keep sending them too.

Happy last night of Chanukah,
Rabbi Seltzer