Chanukah: Taking care of our children, Taking care of the little candles
A lot of people always pray for children. There is a very simple way- buy yourself a baby carriage. Enroll your child in yeshiva, buy a Chumash for your baby, buy a Gemara. And you know something- G-d doesn’t let you down.
A person came to the holy Reb Dovid Dinover and said, Rebbe, bless me with children. He says, I’ll tell you the truth- my chossid, the heilige Reb Feivish Tosher, he is an expert on blessing with children. Why don’t you go and ask him to come to you for lunch, and he’ll take care of you. The heilige Tosher comes in, and begins running around in the house like crazy. So this Yiddele says to him, holy Rebbe, what are you looking for? The Rebbe says, I’m looking for a baby carriage. He says, Rebbe, I have no children. The Rebbe says, do you know I only eat in a house that has children? The Yiddele says, Rebbe, what am I going to do now? He says, I’ll tell you something, I’ll come back next year.
First he promises he’ll eat, then he promises himself never to eat in a house that has no children. So he’s forcing G-d to give this Yiddele children. I want you to know, on Yom Kippur we are not forcing G-d. We are standing before G-d, asking Him- give me long life, give me parnossa, a living- maybe we’ll have a good year, hopefully.
But the last night of Chanukah- Zot Chanukah- Zot means clear. I know I’ll have a good year, do you know why? Because I’m looking at my little candles, at my children. I’m saying to G-d, You’d better take care of me because my children need me. You’d better give me long life, because I’ve got to take care of those candles. So a father and mother are standing before G-d saying, listen G-d, I have You in my hands. I’m taking care of my children- that means You’d better take care of me.
If you want to have a good year, take that little candle, that holy drop of oil G-d sends into your house, and seal it with the seal of the High Priest. Make your children so holy and so beautiful- so, so beautiful. Chanukah is mehadrin min hamehadrin, most, most beautiful.
You know, it’s not enough to be frum, it’s not enough to be a servant of G-d. It has to be beautiful.
Reb Nachman says, whatever is in this world, is in Heaven the same way. Nobody can stand sad people, ugly people. You just have patience, but you’re not loving them, you can’t blow your mind that you want to be in their presence. The same way for G-d. Ugliness is very hard for G-d to stomach. On Chanukah we’re beautiful again.
Do you know why we are beautiful? Because we are taking care of our children, taking care of the little candles, taking care of that holy oil which G-d gave us. So I bless you, friends- Take care of your baby carriages, take care of your children, take care of your houses. And let it be the best year of your life.
Transcribed by Miriam Rubinoff
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