I wonder what children learn from Chanukah.

Most of us remember scenes of children opening their presents -images of kids ripping packages open and the squeals of delight. But looking back, I can’t remember a single gift that I got.

Mostly what I remember about Chanukah is a community coming together in celebration – children, adults, grandparents – coming together for a celebration of hope, a celebration of survival, a celebration of joy.

I remember the songs and the lights and the community. And I remember little ones standing at the front of the congregation with candles in their hands, singing songs like Judah the Macabee” and “Don’t Let the Light Go Out.”

What was it like for those kids, knowing that they were the center of attention? And what was it like for them to know that they were part of an ancient story, that our people had brought light into the world for thousands of years and that we must work to preserve that light?

Children’s lives are shaped by the communities we create for them and the stories we tell them. “Read me a story,” our toddlers will tell us. But it’s not just because they want to stay up late. The stories we tell our children contain powerful truths- truth about who we are, about the values that we want to pass down, and about our hopes for the next generation. Our children need to hear those stories again and again so that they can become the people they were meant to be.

What do children learn from Chanukah? They learn that there were people who fought for them thousands of years before they were born – people who risked their lives so that Judaism would continue. And they learn that there is hope, even in times of darkness. No matter how bad things get, God and the Jewish people are with us.

And finally, they see the power of community. For children who grow up in synagogue communities, Chanukah is more than presents at home. It is about the lights, the warmth, the smell of latkes that we can only find when we come together.

Netivot Shalom, one of the last Chassidic masters, looks at the story of how Chanukah is described in the Talmud. It’s a tiny little story, tucked between pages and pages of laws – the only story that we have about the miracle of the Menorah.

The Talmud tells the story of how the Macabees recaptured the Temple, and how there was only enough oil for one day. “But there was a miracle,” the Talmud tells us, “and the oil lasted for eight whole days …. the next year, the 25th of Kislev was established as a time of thanksgiving and praise.”

Netivot Shalom asks a simple question: why did they wait a year before establishing the holiday? And his answer is profound:

This is what we teach our children at Chanukah – that God left a drop of pure oil within each of us. As long as we have that light, as long as we have community, we can find our way out of the darkness.