Lasting Hanukkah Gifts

Dear Children,
We have gifts for you as usual, for each night of Hanukkah.  We¹ve planned these presents carefully and we hope that you like them.
THE FIRST NIGHT: For the first night of Hanukkah, your gift is LOVE.  This is the first thing.  We love you.  This is unconditional and not negotiable. We will love you always and forever, no matter what.
THE SECOND NIGHT: For the second night of Hanukkah, we give you JUDAISM. This gift gives you strength in your heritage, a strong moral code, and an incredible gift for survival.  Judaism gives you inspiration, scholarship, compassion, a way to live, and a people to belong to, wherever life takes you.
THE THIRD NIGHT: For the third night we give you FAMILY.  This is the other part of your roots, the groundedness that you get when you know who you are, and whose example you can follow.  This is your grandparents and other family members that we talk about.  This is growing up in a setting where we try hard to show you how people treat each other.
THE FOURTH NIGHT: The fourth night we give you HOME.  As in, you can always come home.  As in, you can bring your friends home.  As in, this is your home.  You have a place in the world, a shelter, both physical and psychological.  It looks just like any other house, but it is your home.
THE FIFTH NIGHT: The fifth night we give you SECURITY, at least as much as we can.  Your true, long-range security has to come from within yourselves, from being and becoming trustworthy.  Meanwhile, we will do all that we can to give you the foundation and composure to know, without question, that you are capable, competent and smart.  We are proud of your innate abilities, your goodness and your good sense, of your willingness to try.  You do not need to compete or follow the crowd to gain self-esteem, because you already have, from us, from within yourself, the seeds of true confidence: just nurture them.
THE SIXTH NIGHT: For the sixth night of Hanukkah, we give you FREEDOM, with boundaries that stretch broader and broader as you get older, and within guidelines that you can keep using as you mature.  This gift comes for now in measured doses, so that by the time you are an adult, or completely out in the world of unlimited independence, you will know how to use it, how to be true to your own standards.
THE SEVENTH NIGHT: For the seventh night we give you OPTIMISM.  This includes both a sense of perspective and joy.  Life will be hard enough, so relish the good moments.  Our other gifts will help you stay strong in the face of adversity.  Focus on hope, equanimity and a positive outlook, instead of on worry and pessimism.  Be a glad presence in the world.  Have fun.
THE EIGHTH NIGHT: For the eighth night we give you KNOWLEDGE.  This includes both schooling and street smarts, the house full of books and the give and take of active, informed debate.  This includes the full richness of every experience, from the appreciation of the outdoor world, to how to hammer a nail, bake a cake, launder a shirt, or how to give to charity.  We are filling your minds all the time, even when you don't know it.  This gift of knowledge is one you can keep giving yourself, the rest of your life. 
So, there you are, all eight candles ablaze.  Do you like your presents? Yes? What? You say that you want real presents, packages? You may get those too.  But the really big ones that we just told you were coming every Hanukkah night are by any measure the most important of all.  These presents won't wear out, get broken or old.  And no one can take them from you ­ when you have them.  And when you have them, you must hold and treasure them.  We love you!
This meaningful letter was written by Barbara Koretz, sister of Michelle Windmueller, for her children.  It has been shared with the community by Inge and Harold Horowitz,  who have passed it along with their love.