Here you see 350 children in a room; 350 children lighting chanuka candles; 350 children doing face painting; 350 children doing photo stop and the best part- 350 children singing Chanuka songs, laughing and opening their beautifully wrapped surprise chanuka gifts –

Sounds ordinary.

Why would anyone write an article about something so ordinary as 350 children enjoying the happiness of Chanuka- holiday of miracles?

These are 350 kids who cannot celebrate Chanuka with their Mom and Dad together , with their Mommy and Tatty together or even together with both Bubbies and both Zaydies. They are 350 kids who always have to choose “either” Mommy or Tatty; they always have to have Chanuka with one Bubbie “or” the other, with one Zaydie “or” the other. They don’t have the safety of being together with their Mommy and Tatty. These are children who have to be so careful of what they hear; they have to be so careful of what they repeat to Mommy or Tatty. Miriam has to be smart enough to know what “not” to say to get Mommy upset. Chaim has to be adult enough to leave Mommy for the night to go sleep away from the bed he is used to sleeping in. Jordana has to has to remember to have the sweater that matches her skirt in the house she is sleeping in.. And what happens when Meir realizes that he left his book that he needs for tomorrow in the wrong house.

These are 350 children of divorce who are having a night they will remember for a long time probably forever. These are 350 children who are enjoying, shrieking with glee when they open their Chanuka gifts. Tonight is their night. They aren’t different than anyone else. They are all the same. They are all here at the Hall of Science celebrating a miracle- They are happy.

All the children at the Hall of Science tonight are only with one parent. All the children in the room understand the life they each lead. Mommy is great; Tatty is great but in this room its not about Mommy and Tatty. In this room, at the Hall of Science where they are lighting Chanuka candles, where they are dancing on stage, where they are eating pizza and French fries – In this room, they are normal kids. They are not different than anyone else. They are the all the same.

On Monday night the seventh night of Chanuka, FRUMDIVORCE, an organization devoted to supporting divorced adults through a difficult time, FRUMDIVORCE, devoted the night to CHILDREN OF DIVORCE. It was the night of the Children. FRUMDIVORCE together with LEVSHLOMO and the UNITED TASK FORCE, a group of over 40 agencies and MASK created a dream come true for the CHILDREN OF DIVORCE. They were the entire focus of this Miracle night. It wasn’t about the parents, it wasn’t about the divorce, it wasn’t about anything but these children feeling total and complete happiness.

These 350 children left with individually wrapped gifts with their Mommy or their Tatty smiling after having experienced a night devoted to the happiness of Chanuka.
Congratulations to these agencies for thinking of the Children.