After the tsar spreads word that the Jews are responsible for the country's poverty, an ugly mood overwhelms a Russian village just before Hanukkah begins. Just in time, a family receives a letter containing what they think will be adequate money for Moses and Benjamin to join their older brother in Palestine. As they travel, the lonely boys use their grandmother's brass lamp to gain needed comfort, to sustain their faith and, finally, to secure passage for the final leg of their perilous journey. Oil paintings reproduced in full color illustrate a story based upon the experiences in 1914 of the author's grandfather and uncle. (Ages 5-9)