NOVEMBER 2021 | CHESHVAN/KISLEV 5782
JFS brings Chanukah to local older adults
Chanukah fun planned at JDS
By Joanna Powers JDS Director of Hebrew and Judaics Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley is committed to serving older adults in our community. Staff and volunteers continue to make each holiday special for local residents of long-term care residences. This year, plans are being made to visit those residences which are open to visitors, such as Atria, Country Meadows, Kirkland Village, Traditions of Hanover and Cedarbrook. For those which are currently closed to visitors, Jewish Family Service will provide a virtual recorded program celebrating the Holiday of Light. JFS thanks all of our volunteers, including those featured in the video: Eva Derby,
the students of the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley, Federation Community Shaliach Gavriel Siman-Tov, Rabbi Seth Phillips of Congregation Keneseth Israel, Rabbi Moshe Re’em of Temple Beth El, and Rabbi Michael Singer of Congregation Brith Sholom. Muhlenberg College Hillel students are also getting together to create customized Chanukah cards to add the holiday goody bags. Over 60 people across the Lehigh Valley will receive these gift bags. If you are interested in volunteering with Jewish Family Service, contact Chelsea Karp at ckarp@jfslv.org or 610-821-8722.
After a very busy September full of nonstop fall holidays, the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley is more than ready for an excitingly early Chanukah this year! Not only do we start celebrating Chanukah in early November this year, but we have a full week of holiday celebrations at school. The school will be bursting with ruach, spirit, with the lobby, hallways and classrooms covered in decorations and the latest Chanukah songs pouring through the PA system every morning. We will have a daily candle lighting and a surprise schoolwide activity daily, on top of all the plans the teachers have for every grade from projects to contests to
dramatic skits. Our lunchtime school-wide celebrations will be packed with games, arts and crafts, engaging challenges and music, all rooted in the history and significance of the Festival of Lights. On any given day of Chanukah, you might find students not only playing dreidel but crafting their own dreidels (one year all of our students designed their own dreidels on our 3D printer), investigating how much oil it really would have taken to keep the chanukiah lit in the Beit HaMikdash (our math teachers are busy writing math riddles), writing poetry about the Maccabees, solving Chanukah puzzles, making holiday jewelry, or exploring modern miracles. We can’t wait to jump into Chanukah 5782 - we have so much to celebrate!
From the Board & Staff of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley GARY FROMER President
2 NOVEMBER 2021 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | HAPPY CHANUKAH
JERI ZIMMERMAN Executive Director
A Chanukah memory
By Gavriel Siman-Tov Community shaliach The donut holiday, or should I call it by the Hebrew name — sufganiyot. Chanukah is the holiday of deep frying, of the menorah and the miracle. This holiday is the first one in the Jewish calendar after a long break, and I might be wrong, but I want to say it’s every Israeli kid’s favorite holiday. At this point you must think, well, of course, because of all the gifts they get. But let me tell you this, as far as I know and experience, usually we will get one gift for Chanukah or none at all. This is not really a tradition, at least not where I grew up. You might ask then why it’s the favorite holiday? Well, because of those sufganiyot. And let me tell you, the sufganiyot nowadays are nothing like they used to be. It became more of a showoff to create those beautiful sufganiyot. Don’t get me wrong, they are looking amazing, but now they have all of those different flavors, and I miss the original one. I miss walking down the street with my dad to the guy with his deep fryer and buying this hot and fresh sufganiyah made on the spot just for you. Every year during Chanukah, you will see those sufganiyot everywhere, and in school or kindergarten and even any other after school program, they will mention Chanukah and bring sufganiyot for the kids. Well, as kids you know what you need to do — you need to get more than one because they are so good, and at that point of life you don’t care how fattening those things are. As a kid, this was my goal: to get two sufganiyot, and I must say I did a good job most of the time. (Take a look at the photo attached.) The other goal you had in mind as a kid was not to get the jelly on your shirt. Well, at this goal, I wasn’t so good. I think pretty much year after year growing up I was coming home after eating a sufganiyah with this weird stain on my shirt that was just jelly that I smudged all over trying to cover it up so my mom wouldn’t know. This is just one small memory that Chanukah
always bring for me. It is the beginning of winter, my second winter here, and I can’t believe how fast time flies by. So, get a sufganiyah, one in each hand, and enjoy the moment. Those are the little things that you will end up remembering forever.
Community Chanukah programs offered for all ages No matter your age or interest, there will be programs to help you celebrate Chanukah this year. Gavriel Siman-Tov is planning to do a Chanukah event for the Young Adult Division to bring them together for the holiday with sufganiyot and cocktails. Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy is hosting a “Too Hot to Candle” event on Nov. 22, where women will make their own candles, dreidels and window clings with artist Tova Speter (see page 4 to learn more). And at the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley, a Community Hanukkah Party will take place in the Kline Auditorium on Dec. 5 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The monthly Family Shabbat Party will also be Chanukah-themed on Dec. 3 from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Chabad of the Lehigh Valley will host menorah lightings across the Lehigh Valley again this year. Join them for refreshments, songs and all-around family fun and be part of this global celebration of light. The first will be Monday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. in
downtown Bethlehem next to City Hall. The second will be in Easton on Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 5:30 p.m. across from the Crayola Factory, featuring the legendary Big Easy Easton Brass. A date for an Allentown lighting will be announced soon. Please contact the organizations directly to learn more.
HAPPY CHANUKAH | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NOVEMBER 2021 3
Book Review: ‘The Matzah Ball’ By Sean Boyle Special to HAKOL Jean Meltzer’s debut novel, “The Matzah Ball,” is a Chanukah romance novel about an author doing research for a Chanukah romance novel while meeting back up with her archenemy from Jewish camp 18 years earlier. Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a famous rabbi’s daughter who often visits her family for Shabbat. She is also the world famous Christmas romance novel author, Margot Cross, who loves everything about the magic surrounding Christmas. Her publisher, wanting more diversity in their line-up, refuses to give any more contracts to Margot Cross and instead wants Rachel to write a Chanukah romance novel under her own name. Rachel has no choice but to take the request because she suffers from a chronic illness, and writing novels is the job that she can best control as well as hide her illness. But, Rachel doesn’t believe Chanukah has the magic of Christmas and is off to find anything that she can make into a successful novel. Rachel finally finds an advertisement for the biggest Chanukah party in New York City’s history and is determined to attend. Unfortunately the tickets have been sold out for months. Luckily she knows the man organizing and running The Matzah Ball, but he is her archenemy from Jewish camp, who is also her first love. While the two main characters are Rachel and the “six-foot-tall Semitic Adonis” Jacob Greenberg, we do get to learn a lot about Rachel’s lifelong best-friend Mickey and Jacob's 91-year-old bubbe, Toby. Discovered along the way is the truth to what they both thought were betrayals from that fateful summer, and why Jacob moved away to Paris and hasn’t returned for almost two decades. But does Rachel get to find her Chanukah magic? Read and find out! Meltzer describes herself as “the world’s only Emmy-award winning, chronically-ill
and disabled, rabbinical-school drop-out.” Meltzer, as well as her character Rachel, is diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Meltzer attempts to accurately portray her own condition through Rachel and gives readers insight to the challenges ME/CFS people face daily. Highly recommended for ages 15-120, especially for anyone who wants to find Chanukah magic and lost love. Sean Boyle is Congregation Keneseth Israel’s librarian and is also serving as President of the Schools, Synagogues, Centers, and Public Libraries Division of the Association of Jewish Libraries. The Matzah Ball. (Meltzer, Jean, Toronto, Canada, Mira, 2021, 336p.)
Lacy Latkes BY SANDI TEPLITZ
Everyone has a favorite recipe for this traditional holiday treat. Here’s mine… and it is gluten-free, thanks to the starchiness of the potatoes. INGREDIENTS: 3 lb. large red, peeled, grated potatoes, well drained 1 lb. yellow onions, grated, well drained 2 eggs, preferably cage-free 1/4 cup pareve, gluten-free breadcrumbs, finely grated 1 Tbsp. Diamond kosher salt 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. white pepper 2 Tbsp. schmaltz 2 Tbsp. corn oil
www.statetheatre.org 453 Northampton St., Easton, PA 610-252-3132 . 1-800-999-STATE 4 NOVEMBER 2021 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | HAPPY CHANUKAH
TECHNIQUE: Mix onions and potatoes together. Drain again on paper towel. Mix all other ingredients together except the fat. Add to potato mixture. Fry when fat is sizzling. Turn when lacy on one side. Complete the frying until quite crisp. Drain lightly on paper towels. Keep warm in 250°F oven. Serve with applesauce. (Note: since this is made with fleishig ingredients, it may not be served with any dairy products.)
LISA DAMICO/MIRA BOOKS; COLLAGE AND ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE YAGEL
The author of ‘The Matzah Ball,’ a Chanukah novel, wants Jews to read more romance peppered with references to the Talmud and other Jewish texts. Who do you see as the audience?
Jean Meltzer aimed to subvert traditional Jewish stories in her debut novel "The Matzah Ball." By Philissa Cramer Jewish Telegraphic Agency Editor’s Note: See the exclusive review of this new novel from HAKOL’s Sean Boyle on page 4. Jean Meltzer always knew how “The Matzah Ball,” her first novel, would end. But while Rachel and Jacob’s love story conforms to the conventions of the romance novel, Meltzer sees it as subverting traditional Jewish stories that more often dwell on the difficulty or danger of being Jewish. Meltzer also wanted to spotlight a character who, like her, struggles with chronic illness. Rachel’s myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, is invisible to those who don’t know her but shapes her life in every way, much as it has for Meltzer, who was diagnosed as a young adult and describes herself as “basically homebound.” Meltzer spoke to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency from her silver-tinsel-draped home office in Northern Virginia about the impetus behind “The Matzah Ball,” why she believes the Chanukah bush has a place in Jewish homes and the power of romance novels to shape Jewish identity. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. JTA: Why did you decide to write this book and what are you hoping to achieve with it? Meltzer: I’ve always been a nice Jewish girl who loves Christmas. And every year I go into, say, Target, and there’s a holiday display with all of the Christmas books. Year after year, I went looking for a Chanukah book, and there never was one. I just wanted to see myself represented on that table. I could envision it: a blue and white book in the sea of red and green. I also had an experience where my 7-year-old niece was sitting on my lap and she looked at me and she goes Auntie Jean, you have a big nose, and big noses are ugly. She goes to Jewish day school, she’s surrounded by strong Jewish women, and I thought, where did she get this message? So when I sat down to write this book, I wanted to do something different from the stories I had grown up with, which were Holocaust stories, stories where Jews were being taken hostage by terrorists — you never really saw us as the heroes of their own stories. I wanted to write a book for Jews where the heroes were sexy, where the men were strong, where the women were beautiful, where they got their happy ending. I wrote this book primarily for myself, but it was really out of a desire to sort of just create a different type of Jewish story. I think we all know that antisemitism is a growing problem.
I didn’t want to add to that. I wanted to write the best of my community. I wanted to write the best of Shabbat dinners that I’ve been to, the best of Jewish mothers, the best of Jewish friendships, and all the fun of living in the Jewish world. I wanted people to see Jews in a different light. In the literary world, the #OwnVoices movement has argued that stories about communities and cultures should be written by people from those communities and cultures. There’s also backlash to this idea from those who say it deprives writers of the power to invent and may cause writers to be pigeonholed. How do you see your work fitting into this debate? Having worked with non-Jewish editors and seeing how people have reacted to the book, I can see now that I think in a very Jewish worldview that is very different from how the rest of the world thinks. Things that I sort of take for granted and nuances that I thought everybody would sort of understand, I had to realize and learn that that was not the case. Listen, I’m a writer. I love writing. Any writer should be able to write any story. But I really think there is something to #OwnVoices. You would have to do years and years and years of research, I think, to write a book like “The Matzah Ball,” if you didn’t have the experience. I think there’s absolutely something to be said for #OwnVoices. The book is very thoroughly Jewish — not just the characters and setting but the text, which is
At the end of the day I don’t know who the audience will be but I will tell you that absolutely non-Jews have picked up the book. Debbie Macomber is the queen of Christmas romance: She fell in love with the book, and not only gave me a blurb but she did my launch event recently. The first international territory my book sold to was Sweden, which again is a place that you don’t think has a huge Jewish population, and it’s going to be [the publisher’s] Christmas lead in 2022. So, obviously, the book is resonating with non-Jewish readers and I think it’s been resonating with Jewish readers as well, which is the ultimate hope — that it reaches who it needs to reach. Your story is about a celebration of holiday aesthetics, but there’s also a moment where the characters realize that a bunch of dreidels and menorahs just don’t have a glitzy effect. The Christmas aesthetic is so well developed, and there are so many variations on it. Why do you think the Jewish holiday aesthetic is so much less developed? I did not grow up in a family that had any type of Christmas or Chanukah decor, but I love it now. Every year I start sort of scouring for, like, a new Chanukah inflatable for the lawn, and every year it’s impossible to find something that’s good, that doesn’t look just like a tchotchke on my lawn. Even so, I’m very proud of my outdoor display — we have gone insane. We have giant blow-ups and we put up lights and it’s gotten to a point where people literally drive to see it. In Jewish law, there are prohibitions against mimicking your foreign neighbors and things like that. So growing up I think that was very strong: There was a fear of assimilation and that having a Christmas tree, we were
all going to go off and marry non-Jews and not be Jewish anymore. For me, I feel like I’ve done the work Jewishly, and I am very comfortable in my Judaism. So I don’t feel like the Chanukah bush is going to be my slippery slope that’s going to push me over the edge and change my belief system. But there is also a commandment of beautifying your holy objects, and then the commandment for Chanukah lights is that you’re supposed to publicize the miracle, right? I’m not a rabbi, but you can maybe make an argument [in favor of Chanukah lawn displays]. I’ve always been a person who likes pretty things, and especially with chronic illness and in the middle of a pandemic, holding on to my joy is such a big part of my life. And when I walk and it’s nighttime and the lights are twinkling, I feel it in my kishkes. It just makes me feel good. If you were to pick a favorite moment in the book or the writing process, one that felt like a peak moment for you, what would it be and why? The hardest thing for me to write, or what I think was the most important thing, was the bedazzled wheelchair. [Jacob sends a sparkly wheelchair to Rachel’s apartment after a flareup of her chronic fatigue leaves her unable to leave home.] The problem of chronic illness is that it’s invisible. Because we’re invisible, our struggles are not fully seen and because they’re not seen, they’re not understood. So this idea that like, again, it’s almost like intersectionality of identity — we think of ourselves as Jewish, but we’re more than just Jewish. A lot of us have multiple identities. By making it visible, by showing that it’s so much more normal than we realize, that’s how we get people to understand that it’s part of our experience. And when you’re chronically ill, that moment where you want to use a wheelchair is
really the moment when you’re like “holy crap, I’m really sick,” and when your disability goes from invisible to visible. So I felt it was incredibly important and powerful that women who were chronically ill and sick could see that they could be loved, even in a wheelchair. And that it’s okay to accept your disability, and then also that a man or a woman or a partner will love you in spite of whatever your disability is, will love you through all the good and bad of your life. It was the hardest thing to write because I had never seen anything like that in a romance, but I felt like at the end of the day it was the most important scene I wrote in the book. What else would you want Jewish readers to know about your book? It was written to create a joyous Jewish story. I know it’s different but I really think everyone should at least pick it up, give it a chance, give it a try. You might find that you actually like romance and romcom more than you realize. I know it’s new for the Jewish world. I really think it’s important that young people and all of us see ourselves in stories beyond the lens of victimhood, and I really think that one of the ways we do that is by making ourselves heroes in our own stories. And this is a way to do that. Romance gives us the ability to become heroes and love interests, and champions of our own narrative. I hope I’m not the only Jewish romance writer going forward. [Meltzer’s second book, “Mr. Perfect on Paper,” will come out next year, and she’s at work on a third.] I hope we have lots of Jewish rom coms because there’s a huge gaping hole in the market there. And, you know, I think it’s really important that we start telling stories where we get a happy ending. I know it’s not what we do, but everyone deserves a happy ending, including Jews.
HAPPY CHANUKAH | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NOVEMBER 2021 5
American Girl releases Chanukah outfit and gift set for dolls, part of ‘Cultural Celebration Collection’ By Shira Hanau Jewish Telegraphic Agency Left, American Girl unveiled a doll outfit for Chanukah complete with a sparkly blue dress, silver shoes, a head band, and a Star of David necklace. AMERICAN GIRL
For Jewish fans of American Girl dolls, Chanukah came early this year.
Last month, the popular doll company released a new set of holiday doll outfits and accessories to diversify its holiday outfits. Kids can now dress up their dolls in special outfits for Eid Al-Fitr, Diwali, the Lunar New Year, Kwanzaa and Chanukah. The new holiday outfits come with a booklet explaining the significance of each of the holidays. The Chanukah outfit includes a sparkly blue dress, silver shoes, a head band and a Star of David necklace. In addition to the clothing, priced at $36, fans of the dolls can also purchase a Chanukah gift set that includes a menorah, Star of David bracelet, dreidel and Chanukah gelt. American Girl is known for its lifelike dolls with backstories — and a series of short novels and movies about them — spanning the globe and set throughout history. The company released its first Jewish doll named Rebecca Rubin, whose story was set on the Lower East Side in early 20th century, in 2009. While that doll was recently retired, her own Chanukah set is still available, along with a Shabbat set that includes a teapot, pastries and a braided challah.
Cranberry saucestuffed challah recipe
By Shannon Sarna The Nosher
oats (optional) thick sea salt (optional)
When it comes to the days after Thanksgiving, you’ll probably have plenty of cranberry sauce left over after the big meal. If you’re like us, you’re already dreaming up ways to integrate those cranberries — whether home-made into a sauce or straight from the can — into a festive Shabbat dessert or Chanukah side dish! Why not turn leftover cranberry sauce into a unique flavor of challah: cranberry saucestuffed challah!
DIRECTIONS Prepare challah dough according to directions. Allow to rise approximately 3 hours. Divide dough in half. Then divide into three even pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, then flatten rope. Spread generous portion of cranberry sauce in the middle of each flattened piece of dough (around 1/3 cup). Pinch dough over cranberry sauce and roll gently to even out. Braid dough. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Allow to rise another 30-40 minutes. Brush with beaten egg. Top with sunflower seeds, oats and thick sea salt if desired. Bake for 22-25 minutes.
INGREDIENTS 1 batch plain challah of your choosing 14-oz can cranberry sauce (you can use whole berry, jelly or even homemade) 1 egg, beaten sunflower seeds (optional)
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DIY Thanksgivukkah Tablescape Ideas From the Team at Creative Closets® 610-433-0933 - creativeclosets.com
By Becca Goldberg The Nosher Since Thanksgiving and Chanukah are so close again this year, we’re pulling out these ideas from the 2013 Thanksgivukkah table inspired by the traditions of both holidays!
GELT TABLE RUNNER Steps: 1. & 2. Staple together cardstock to create a base. We used 3 pieces of 11×14 cardstock, but you can customize the size of the paper and the length of the base for your own table. Carefully unwrap all gelt – you will need both wrapper pieces intact. 3. Fold down all edges flat against the underside [silver side] of the wrapper. 4. Separate the designs into two piles, matching like with like. Using pieces from one pile, lay down a row of wrappers from edge to edge of cardstock. With a hot glue gun, attach the row to cardstock. Lay a second row over the first using pieces from the other pile. 5. Continue to scallop the rows, alternating designs. 6. Place along center of table, and voila! You have your very own gelt table runner.
about 2/3 of each feather completely. Tape just below the exposed feather tip at an angle for an artistic flair. 2. Coat the exposed tips of the feathers with metallic spray paint. 3. Allow to dry fully before gently peeling off painters tape. 4. Thread name cards* with craft wire, cut into approximately 6 inch pieces. 5. Align name card at base of feather. 6. Wrap entire length of wire around base to secure name card to feather, then place atop the dish or plate at each setting.
*We printed our name cards, but you can write guests’ names on cardstock of any size.
Paid for by Susan Wild for Congress
חג שמח
CONGRESSWOMAN SUSAN WILD WISHES YOU A HAPPY HANAKKUH! It is an honor to serve our community in Congress. I’ll continue working in a bipartisan manner to improve the lives of everyone in the Lehigh Valley. That includes addressing the challenges burdening our manufacturers and employers and the unique issues facing our healthcare providers and hospitals, and making sure that our seniors’ earned rights to Social Security and Medicare are protected.
METALLIC FEATHER PLACE CARDS Steps: 1. Lay feathers out along bottom of a cardboard box. Using painter’s tape, cover
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HAPPY CHANUKAH | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | NOVEMBER 2021 7
Happy Hanukkah
Warm wishes for a celebration filled with love, light and family.