The Globe and Mail
November 19, 1997
Dedicated to the “modern Maccabees of World War II who fought for the light of all civilization,” the picture book By the Hanukkah Light, by Sheldon Oberman and illustrated by Neil Waldman (Boyd’s Mills Press, 32 pages, $21.99 ages 6 to 9), tells two stories. The first, told by Grandpa to young Rachel and Jacob, is the old story of the first Chanukah and the miracle of the lamp that burned for eight days in the newly reclaimed Great Temple, when there had been only enough oil for one day. The second story is Grandpa's own. about a dark and deadly time when the chanukiah had to be hidden, not placed where all could see. During this time Grandpa fought like the Maccabees of old, and ultimately experienced his own Chanukah miracle. Both stories can be told over and over again.