If I were a rich man

The Jewish tradition for Chanukah is to give Chanukah gelt. Real money, cash.

But why? Why can't I give the child, or fellow adult a gift? I want to show them that I thought about what they want, I didn't just get them a tie? How is gelt (not person specific) more valuable than a gift which is super thoughtful?

It's because you are rich!

On Chanukah we celebrate education (Chinuch in Hebrew) and rededication (Chanuka).
Money is useless on its own! It’s what you do with it that makes it valuable.

Each person is given powers and abilities by G-d. Each person is rich with potential. Each person then gets the choice to use their abilities to make the world a better place.

On Chanukah the education we want to give our children, and the child in each of us, is "here is potential, goodness, a potential gift, what will you do with it?"

I think of Zero Mostel, a Hollywood star who famously played Tevye in Fidler on the Roof.

What kind of name is Zero?

He grew up in New York with eight siblings in a Hasidic family. His real name? Shmuel Yoel.

Family members used to tell him he is a gornisht, a nothing. Because they saw his worth through a narrow lens. Value was based on how observant and how studious he was. They spoke to him in a way that no child should ever be spoken to.

These family members missed the message of Chanukah gelt! They were focused on what he was doing as opposed to who he was and could potentially be!

When he first came to Hollywood and the agent asked him for his name, he immediately responded “Zero.” Mostel recalled: “I needed to choose a name. I decided to choose the name Zero in honor of those family members.”

That is a tragedy that we are trying to avoid with Chanukah gelt!

We need to see ourselves through the vision of how G-d sees us. Hashem, in His love, wants us to take the potential (like gelt) He has given us and transform it! You are rich, you have everything you need to reach your potential.

Happy Chanukah (starts next week Thursday Dec 10, 2020)
Kushi