For months now, Monique doesn’t know who she is anymore.Monique is living under a false identity in German-occupied Paris. No one knows that she is Jewish.Since last summer, Monique has been involved with a Nazi officer, and she knows that she will pay with her life if anyone discovers her secret, but she has no other choice.In the days leading to Christmas, Monique and Herr Ernest, the German officer she lives with, are preparing for a German officers’ reception which they plan to attend. Monique ardently continues to hide her secret. Still, she can’t ignore the signs of her past, and as the evening of the reception progresses, Monique finds it increasingly difficult to keep her true identity a secret, fearing that some may suspect her of hiding something.Monique must keep her secret, but can she continue to deny her identity and heritage?With the backdrop of illuminated Christmas trees and Hanukkah candles, Alex Amit’s short story illuminates the simple and extraordinary acts of courage by a young woman, fighting for her life and identity during those dark and dreadful days, and continuing to believe that next year will bring with it winds of change and hope.

    But Gott had seen fit to take Daniel from them, and they had not been blessed with boppli of their own despite many years of trying. When Sam and Nip's friend, Rachelle, convince Nip to volunteer at the Special Needs Children's Hospital, in the hopes that caring for the sick children when their parents could not be with them, no one could have anticipated the richness of the blessings it would bring. After years of consuming depression, Nip could not bear another Christmas in their haus with only her and Sam. Her prayers had gone unanswered for so many years, and she could not understand Gott's will in her plight. When Gott at last revealed His plans, the full understanding of His timing is at last understood and Nip and Sam have the lives they have always dreamt for themselves. A heartwarming tale of the needs of sick and orphaned children in these close communities and how a special child may be more of a blessing than the parents who take them in.