Show me the money!

So here I sit, blogging in front of the chanuka lights; all right, so I should be looking at them instead of the screen, after all, in the Moshiach Times of old, there was a comic which had the line, or something very much like it, "Look at the story which the candles are telling." Well, guess what? I looked at the lights, they told me a story, and now I have to blog it.

Rabbi Chaim Schapiro announced today that he's making a macha against people buying their children chanuka presents. It seems that he is of the opinion that this falls under the category of "lo seilchu b'chukas hagoyim." Jews give Chanuka gelt; goyim give x-mas presents. This is very similar to the tooth fairy. Jews don't tell their kids that there's a tooth fairy, because that is simply not true. People who tell their kids that there is a tooth malach are even worse; not only are they following in the footsteps of the heathens, but they're making up new shtuff in our own excellent religion. You want to bribe your kids when their tooth falls out and it hurts? Fine, but there's no reason to lie to them in the process. The same goes for chanuka presents. Your kids feel bad that all their friends are getting popcorn makers or whatever it is parents give their children nowadays? So take them shopping after the festival is over, and they can spend all their chanuka gelt on whatever it is their little hearts desire.
This is merely a poor rendition of the Rabbi's passionate speech, and I think you would all do well to contact him and ask for a recap. Of course, when we asked him if he would accept a chanuka present...let's just say that he's an open minded Rabbi.