Last night Jews around the world celebrated the first night of Chanukah. Chanukah celebrates our religious freedom and I have always found it to be a holiday that spoke to me as a Rabbi and educator. I try to find an appropriate Chanukah message to share with people each year. . This year I came across the words of Lord Rabbi Sacks.
The message is one that we as parents and educators need to take to heart.
Wishing you all a Happy Chanukah and in the words of lord Rabbi Sacks, “The best present we can give our children is the chance to do something great.”
I hope Rabbi Sacks words speak to us as much as they spoke to me
Editors note: Because of the important message I will be posting this on a number of my blogs
Here is a link to the complete article: http://www.chiefrabbi.org/ReadArtical.aspx?id=1424
“The best present we can give our children is the chance to do something great.
Children grow to fill the space we create for them, and if it's big, they grow tall. But if we turn them into mini consumers, we rob them of the chance of greatness, and I've not yet met a child not capable of greatness if given the opportunity and encouragement.
I do a lot of public speaking, and people sometimes ask me who taught me. The answer is simple. I went to a Christian school with a lot of Jewish pupils but no Jewish teachers. So we had to run the Jewish assembly ourselves, and that's how I learned as a teenager how to speak in public, because somebody gave me the chance. It was best piece of education I ever had.
Judaism is a child-centred religion. My earliest memories are of putting the bells on the Torah scroll in the synagogue, asking the Passover questions, lighting the chanukah candles. Judaism stayed young because it made heroes of the young. The best present we can give our children is the chance to do something great. It's a gift that will last a lifetime and transform their lives.”
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