In the Talmud, the traditional book of Jewish law and custom, it states, "Whoever teaches his son teaches not only his son but also his son's son, and so on to the end of generations."

Howard Shapiro didn't have anything quite that deep on his mind when he set out to teach his 6-year-old Catholic sons about Hanukkah, but in doing so he may have upheld that Talmudic tenet, however inadvertently.

"I took the kids to the library to find a Hanukkah book and couldn't find any at the Carnegie library that weren't like 20 or 30 years old, so I figured I'd try and write one," Shapiro, of Moon, explained.

So he did. After getting in touch with Trafford publishing, a Canadian outfit that specializes in helping authors to self-publish books, he created a children's book called "Hanukkah Counts Too!"

Self-publishing is not an inexpensive endeavor. A controller at a Downtown graphic design firm, Mr. Shapiro spent about $1,700 to produce the book, and so far he has sold about 1,000 copies. It can be purchased at the Web site www.hanukkahcountstoo.com and at some local Giant Eagle and Borders bookstores for $12.95.

Illustrated by Louisiana-based artist Dawn Landrum, the book tells the story of Tom and his sister, Tupelo (a reference to a Van Morrison song), who are the only two Jewish kids in their elementary school class. The siblings are feeling left out during the Christmas season.

An excerpt: "After a slight pause, Tupelo said, "All of my friends have Christmas and that's all they talk about. Their tree, the presents, leaving cookies for Santa, that's all I hear about. All we do on Christmas Day is eat at a Chinese restaurant."

Tom and Tupelo's Uncle Ron, a young man with, as Mr. Shapiro said, "Dylan-esque" cool, sets the kids straight on the importance of the holiday in Jewish heritage.

"Celebrating Hanukkah is a true blessing, Tupelo. I know it's Christmas 24-7 everywhere you look, but it's cool to be different and not just part of the crowd. But more importantly, our history and heritage matters. Lighting the candles is something very special and we should never forget why we light them."

Tonight marks the fifth night of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights that commemorates the retaking of the temple in Jerusalem from Syrian-led forces and is observed by eight nights of lighting candles in a Menorah.

Tom and Tupelo's experiences are loosely based on those of Mr. Shapiro and his sister, who were the only Jews in their class at Atlantic Avenue Elementary School in the early 1970s.

"Growing up in Forest Hills at that time was not like it may have been in Squirrel Hill or Mt. Lebanon," in terms of religious diversity, Mr. Shapiro said. "I remember being frustrated that our house had a chimney, but no fireplace. I couldn't figure out how Santa Claus was going to get down the chimney," he laughed.

Mr. Shapiro agreed that sometimes Hanukkah's importance is somewhat inflated if only because of its proximity to Christmas, as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover are all considered holier holidays than Hanukkah. But he said you can't quite comprehend that when you're a kid feeling slightly isolated at this time of year.

"When you're Jewish kid, you feel like there is this cool party going on and you're not invited."

Mr. Shapiro's own sons, Lucas Nikita and Sammy Sasha, will be invited to both parties.

The boys were adopted as infants six years ago from Elista, in the Kalmykia state in Russia, the only predominately Buddhist region in Europe. Elista is about 600 miles south of Moscow near the Caspian Sea. Mr, Shapiro's wife, Gina, is Catholic and so the boys, too, are being raised in the church, though with healthy exposure to Judaism.

Mr. Shapiro said that the experience of writing the book and teaching his sons about his religion have helped reaffirm his sense of heritage, or, as a Jewish proverb says, "As you teach, you also learn."

"Hanukkah Counts Too!"

Author: Howard Shapiro

www.hanukkahcountstoo.com $12.95