December is the season for giving. Starting before Thanksgiving, the ever-present, canned Christmas music begins to play in stores and the endless commercials, entice us in multitudinous ways to buy, buy, buy. We are like lemmings in this season, conditioned to automatically make sure that everyone on our list receives the present of their dreams.... the one that will make them happy.... the one that shows them how much we care. We, of course, have the added burden of showing our loved ones how much we care for the eight nights of Hanukkah... a daunting task for any parent or family member with a tradition of a nightly gift. I can't tell you how many times I've struck out at my house over the years. It's much easier now in the teenage years. Every night after we light the candles I hand my son another itunes card. He's happy and I feel that I've fulfilled my obligation.

But Hanukkah is not about giving and receiving the perfect gift. It's a celebration of our victory over persecution, our celebration of our religious freedom, our rededicating ourselves to our Jewish faith. The gift the Maccabbees received was the knowledge that they could once again worship at the Temple and that their actions enabled their people to continue to practice Judaism without fear. It was the ultimate mitzvah, good deed, which made the light in the rededicated Temple appear to shine most brightly.

In commemoration of this historical event, this year when we light the hanukkiah each night, let's think of that light as the shining brightness and radiance we feel when we do a mitzvah. There is no gift that we can receive or give another person which can make us feel the inner glow of satisfaction and happiness, like the gift of helping another person.