Happy Hanukkah! 25 Kislev 5778
Supplement to Jewish News December 4, 2017
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14 | Jewish News | Hanukkah | December 4, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Hanukkah 5778 begins on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 12
Answering some oft-asked Hanukkah questions MJL Staff
(My Jewish Learning via JTA)—How do you pronounce Hanukkah? Is there a correct spelling for the holiday? Why does Hanukkah last eight days? These are just some of the frequently asked questions about the Festival of Lights. Here are the answers to those and many more. How do you pronounce Hanukkah? English speakers generally pronounce it HAH-nuh-kuh. However, some people prefer the Israeli pronunciation, which is khah-new-KAH. Is there a correct way to spell Hanukkah? Hanukkah is a Hebrew word, not an English one, and there is no standard transliteration. My Jewish Learning uses “Hanukkah,” but “Chanukah,” “Chanukka” and “Hanukka” are also common spellings. Why does Hanukkah last eight days? There are two explanations for the eight-day length. One is that Hanukkah commemorates not just the Maccabees’ victory and rededication of the Temple, but the miracle of the oil: one day’s supply for the Temple lamp lasted eight days. Another explanation is that the first Hanukkah celebration was actually a delayed Sukkot celebration, and Sukkot— which, like Passover, is a pilgrimage festival—traditionally lasts eight days. What is Hanukkah about? Hanukkah celebrates the Maccabees’ rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its defilement by the Syrian Greeks in 164 bce. According to rabbinic tradition, the holiday also commemorates the miracle of the oil noted above. Some people see Hanukkah as a celebration of religious freedom, whereas
others see it as a triumph of tradition over assimilation. For many people, it is simply an opportunity for festivity during the darkest time of the year, the winter solstice. Is it OK to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas? Depends on who you ask. Many Jews strongly disapprove of Jews celebrating Christmas, which is a Christian holiday, and some feel alienated by the ubiquity of Christmas in American culture. However, others see Christmas as more a cultural celebration than religious holiday and enjoy participating in Christmas celebrations with non-Jewish friends or non-Jewish family members. Why does Hanukkah fall on a different date each year? Hanukkah always falls on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually is sometime in December. Because the Jewish calendar is a combination of solar and lunar, the date on the Gregorian calendar fluctuates each year. Is the candelabra lit on Hanukkah called a menorah or a hanukkiyah? Menorah simply means lamp and can refer to other candelabras. A hanukkiyah is a candelabra specifically for use on Hanukkah. However, many people call it a menorah or Hanukkah menorah—you usually can tell from context when a person is referring to a Hanukkah candelabra and not a general lamp. Why do Jews play dreidel on Hanukkah? There are different explanations for this tradition, but historians believe the dreidel is an adaptation of another top-spinning game that Europeans played at Christmas time. Do Jews traditionally exchange gifts on all eight nights of Hanukkah? Actually, exchanging gifts on Hanukkah
is a relatively new tradition. American Jews used to exchange gifts on Purim, but in the late 19th century there was a shift from Purim to Hanukkah. Christmas, which falls at the same time of year, became a national holiday in America at this time, and the Jewish custom of gifts on Hanukkah shifted as the Christian holiday’s consumerism grew. When it comes to how many gifts to exchange and when, families have different traditions. Many people prefer to limit the gift exchange to just a few nights in order to de-emphasize the materialistic aspects of the holiday. Why is the first night of Hanukkah one day before the date listed on my calendar? While dates on the Gregorian calendar begin at midnight, dates on the Hebrew calendar begin at sundown—that means a holiday starts hours before the corresponding date on the Gregorian calendar. This difference is particularly noticeable on Hanukkah, since celebrations tend to take place at night rather than during the day. So while your calendar may say Hanukkah starts on Dec. 13, it actually begins the preceding evening.
I tried to find the story of the Maccabees in the Bible, but couldn’t. Where is it? The Book of Maccabees, in which the Hanukkah story is detailed, was not included in the Hebrew Bible and instead is in a category of texts called Apocrypha. For centuries, some Jews used to read the story from an Aramaic-language scroll called The Scroll of Antiochus, which detailed the Maccabees’ victories and added numerous legends. Why do Jews eat greasy food on Hanukkah? It is traditional to eat fried foods, such as latkes and jelly doughnuts (called sufganiyot in Hebrew) as a way of commemorating the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days. If you’re worried about the health (or waistline) implications, try baking your latkes—or consider celebrating the oil by dipping bread into a variety of gourmet olive oils. Another traditional Hanukkah food, cheese, unfortunately isn’t much better for those concerned about fat. The cheese tradition is in honor of Judith, a woman who helped the Maccabee effort by feeding salty cheese and wine to one of Antiochus’ generals—and then beheading him.
What’s the proper way to greet someone on Hanukkah? Happy Hanukkah, “chag sameach” (Hebrew for happy holiday) or “Hanukkah sameach” (Hebrew for Happy Hanukkah). If you’re not sure whether the person you are greeting celebrates Hanukkah or not, you can always say Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings. Do Jews traditionally go to synagogue on Hanukkah? Jewish law does not require Jews to observe Hanukkah anywhere outside the home. However, some special liturgy and readings are added to the daily and Shabbat prayer services that take place during Hanukkah.
jewishnewsva.org | December 4, 2017 | Hanukkah | Jewish News | 15
Hanukkah 5778
Wine Time 2012 Karmei Yosef Winery Bravdo Shiraz Judean Hills, Israel Steve Budman
Dark chocolate has radicalized me. But, this is not about chocolate. As a highly untrained wine wonk, I am going to tell you about an Israeli wine I have been blessed with tasting.
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This is a delicious, big, bold red, pretty dry wine. It reminds me of 85% chocolate, but it does not taste like chocolate. A fine chocolate needs to be savored in steps. You take a small nibble. You let it coat your tongue. Then you go for the big bite. Same with Bravdo Shiraz. While I do not believe in letting a wine breathe (wine doesn’t breathe, it oxidizes!), I do believe in the small slow first sip…and then the mouthful, just like eating serious chocolate. This is a wine that gets better with each sip. Deep, full-bodied, complex, savory, and sophisticated, it can stand up to beef short ribs or brisket, and even pairs well with an earthy bowl of chili. While I don’t have the lexicon of a trained sommelier, I can tell you that it is darkly fruity. Think plums, dates, and Steve Budman. figs, but not the berries you might associate with a pinot noir or merlot. Nor is it syrupy. It is spicy and dry, but it’s not a bully about it like a zinfandel might be. The wine is aged 12 months in oak barrels, but the oak is subtle, earthy, neither buttery nor woody. Bravdo Shiraz might be the perfect Hanukkah wine, engaging the richness of latkes with sides of brisket and tsimmes. And it’s Kosher for Passover! Who knew? While it is a little too dear to pour into your charoset, I look forward to the requisite four cups with my maror, Moroccan chicken and matzoh. Back to Hanukkah—the holiday of cooking with the miraculous oil. Bravdo Shiraz can cut the fried doughnuts, the meats, the chopped liver, and the kasha varnishkes—and the latkes, with or without sour cream or apple sauce. And then, just maybe, you’ll save some for washing down your chocolate gelt. The wine is available online (www.jwines.com/bravdo-shiraz.htm) for about $27, plus shipping, or if you need another excuse to go to Israel, it is widely available. —Steve Budman is a local commercial photographer.
16 | Jewish News | Hanukkah | December 4, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Hanukkah 5778
GIVE HIM THE CLASSICS THAT WILL LAST FOREVER
How to add some competitive excitement to your Hanukkah party Rachel Jarman Myers
(Southern & Jewish via JTA)—With Hanukkah enmeshed in the Christmas season, it’s tough to compete with the epic candy cane, hot chocolate, caroling, and bright-cheery-Santa holiday festivities that dominate the seasonal parties and events. That’s why Hanukkah needs a competitive edge—by including an actual competition in our holiday celebrations. No, not just the annual dreidel game— it gets pretty boring after awhile, right? I’ve found that adding a trophy to any gathering really ups the level of engagement. For my office birthday party one year, I chose to engage my colleagues in a Pie Competition (the winner was a classic chocolate pie, but most creative went to the French fry pie), and each year my husband and I host a backyard barbecue competition that draws hundreds of hungry attendees and about a dozen serious competitors vying for those glorious trophies. For Hanukkah, we’ll be game-ifying the best of Southern traditions: frying food. Here’s some tips on how to encourage a little competition at your own Hanukkah party this year. Build excitement: The invitations go out encouraging guests to bring a latke batter of their choosing to fry at the party and share with a group of hungry judges. I usually include a few informative links for those who have never had the pleasure of crafting the perfect latke. Then I encourage the creativity: Sweet Potato Latkes. Carrot and Beet Latkes. Hushpuppy Latkes. The options are endless when it comes to frying fritters. Work on your prizes: Trophy toppers are
easy to order online. My husband has a great talent for mounting them and getting official plates printed for each category. Or scour a few thrift shops for some old trophies that you can spray-paint and customize. The more the better: It’s the holidays, everyone can get a trophy! Set up the stations: Because the weather is generally quite mild down South for Hanukkah, we are able to host this event outdoors. We set up a few different frying stations, and as competitors arrive they cook up their recipe in skillets and present them hot and fresh to whoever is standing close enough to the pan. We’ve found that a giant cast-iron skillet on a camp stove matched with a few electric griddles works best. Celebrate enthusiastic participation: Competition usually involves friendly banter, hype music and a blow horn or two. I recommend playing the Hanukkah Project by Special Passenger Records to get spirits soaring. At the end of the night the votes are tallied, the trophies presented, and our group remembers another holiday event where little Hanukkah can stand out among the punch bowls and twinkle lights. Rachel Jarman Myers is the museum and special projects coordinator for the Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Mississippi. Southern & Jewish celebrates the stories, people, and experiences—past and present—of Jewish life in the American South. Hosted by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, posts come from educators, students, rabbis, parents, artists, and many other “visitors-to and daily-livers-of” the Southern Jewish experience. From road trips to recipes to reflections, we’ll explore a little bit of everything—well, at least all things Southern and/or Jewish. Shalom, y’all!
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Hanukkah 5778
Hanukkah sweaters are now a thing—and I love them Lior Zaltzman
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NEW YORK (JTA)—Ever since I moved here from Israel, every late November felt like the beginning of a month-long assault. Every store, business and doctor’s office blared Christmas songs, streets were decorated with ostentatious light shows and seemingly everything became green and red—which, as an art school grad, I found personally offensive to my design sensibilities. Then there were the Christmas sweaters. I admit I have a love of tacky knitwear—but I couldn’t get behind these garish monstrosities that flaunted a holiday that I didn’t celebrate but couldn’t escape from. So I was thrilled when, three years ago, I saw a friend at a holiday party wearing a cozy sweater with a familiar pattern on it—dreidels with Hebrew letters, perfectly if garishly designed. I ran across the room and accosted her. “Where did you get that sweater?!?” That was the beginning of my love affair with Hanukkah knitwear. I now have about half-dozen Hanukkah wearables. My favorite is a cardigan called “The Spinster,” the same one I saw at that party, with big, nostalgic corozo buttons. Yes, I have way more sweaters than I probably need, but I treasure them. They feel like my armor in the war that Christmas seems to be waging against me every time the holiday season comes around. Since then, the Hanukkah knitwear market has grown significantly. While there are fewer Hanukkah sweaters than the Christmas variety—for obvious reasons—now you can find everything from cute cardigans at Target done up with hanukkiot and boxed gifts to more controversial pieces, like the borderline misogynistic one sold (and later pulled) at Nordstrom last year. There’s an abundance of cheap, cheerful Hanukkah options on Etsy—heck, even Whoopi
Goldberg jumped on the Hanukkah sweater bandwagon last season with a cutesy, bejeweled octopus design. The Hanukkah sweater, like Americanstyle Hanukkah itself, is a custom that expanded in a “what about us?” reaction to Christmas celebrations. “Ugly Christmas sweater parties” have been a thing since the early 2000s, although it wasn’t until a decade later that Time magazine noted the trend in an article declaring, “the tops are bigger than ever, but in a very hipstery, oh-so-ironic way.” That first Hanukkah sweater I spotted was the brainchild of Carin Agiman, a graphic designer in California. In 2012, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Geltfiend, a sweater line featuring high-quality Hanukkah knitwear with smart designs. “I had spent the previous Hanukkah looking for Hanukkah sweaters to wear to ugly Christmas sweaters parties because I couldn’t quite stomach the idea of wearing a Christmas sweater,” Agiman says. “I didn’t want to be that person who just waited for someone else to make the thing that I really wanted, so I took the money from my tax refund and had samples made at this factory in L.A.” Agiman then put together a photo shoot with the sweaters called Santa’s first Hanukkah, assembled a video and launched her Kickstarter campaign. She got full funding, over $20,000. She worked with a California-based manufacturer, making sure every little detail was perfect. “You’re dealing with these huge machines, if you want the pattern to land in the right place, that takes a lot of work,” she says. Many of the sweaters were inspired by mid-century designs, and everything from the fit to the names, like “Spinmaster,” were meticulously crafted. Agiman saw her ideal client as “Someone who cares about the quality of the things they buy and they wear,” she
Hanukkah 5778
Tipsy Elves Hanukkah sweaters, tipsyelves.com.
says. “They want something that’s clever and not so obvious, someone who is really into being Jewish and the cultural aspect of it, not necessarily religious.” But her customers ended up being more eclectic than she expected—she got quite a few orders from Orthodox Jews, and from non-Jews too. Even Matisyahu reportedly has a sweater. Agiman kept the business going for four years—three years as a side gig, and then, in 2015, as a full-time job. But despite the positive response to her designs, she couldn’t make Geltfiend a viable business. By the end, Agiman says, “I think we sold over 5,000 sweaters, over $400,000 worth of sweaters,” yet “we barely broke even.” “I felt proud of it,” she adds. “I gave it all that I had. It felt like a good note to end things on. I’d rather do something that I love and then let it go.” Making sweaters is a complicated business. Unlike t-shirts, which you can design and manufacture in a matter of days, knitwear is usually manufactured overseas and in big quantities. There are mandatory minimums. It’s hard to get a business off the ground. But one Jewish sweater maven managed to get it done. A year before Agiman launched her line, Evan Mendelsohn, a lawyer, and his friend Nick Morton, an endodontist,
founded a sweater company called Tipsy Elves. “We’d always enjoyed dressing up and wearing fun holiday clothes and we realized there was no one making fun apparel,” Mendehlsohn says. So, they decided to launch their own holiday clothes company. That year, they sold 5,000 sweaters, he says. The next year, Mendehlson quit his job. You may have guessed by the name— Tipsy Elves doesn’t just peddle Hanukkah wares. It sells Christmas sweaters—lots and lots of ridiculous Christmas sweaters. But they make Hanukkah sweaters, too. This season, they have about 10 of them. Including one that you might recognize as the one Seth Rogen wore in the film The Night Before. Jumpsuits, blazers, tees, leggings, and sweatpants are also available. Unlike Agiman and me—who are Hanukkah purists—Mendehlsohn has a much more lighthearted approach to the holiday sweater dilemma. “My dad is Jewish and my mom is Catholic, so I was raised doing a little bit of both,” he says. As for Agiman—who’s still shipping leftover Geltfiend stock via Amazon— she’s kept the Hanukkah spirit alive: “The food is my favorite, the sufganiyot, the latkes, the gelt!” she says. “I think I’m just really, really in love with that.”
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Quilting for a good cause T
he generosity and good spirit of the Ohef Sholom Temple Tzedakah Quilting Group can be seen through Thursday, Dec. 14 at the Sandler Family Campus. That’s because the group’s quilts are on display, brightly decorating the Cardo. After the exhibit, Jewish Family Service will distribute the quilts to families and people in need for Hanukkah. The Quilting Group was established at Ohef Sholom in April 2015 and is comprised of 14 women who meet at the temple three times a month to create their beautiful masterpieces. Some have never worked on a quilt before and others are seasoned quilters. Together, they have created 31 quilts. “Creating these Tzedakah Quilts gives me the pleasure of giving and receiving,” says Celia Friedman. “ I love hearing about and from the recipients of these gifts. I also enjoy getting to know and sew with the other quilters. I am truly amazed at each one’s source of knowledge and creativity.” Visit the Simon Family JCC to see the display and if inspired, the group welcomes all skill levels to join. For more information on the Tzedakah Quilting Group, contact Ohef Sholom at 757-625-4295.
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This early Hanukkah stamp from Jewish National Fund’s Chicago office depicts a Jewish pioneer in Palestine standing in front of Judah Maccabee. Courtesy of Joe Weintrob
Hanukkah 5778 Judah Maccabee went to the doctor. Then the anti-vaxxers got very mad. Victor Wishna
(JTA)—Like any self-respecting author, Ann D. Koffsky checks her Amazon rankings on a regular basis. “A little bit ridiculously,” she acknowledges. Yet when she noticed the rating for her most recent book had dropped to one-star overnight, it wasn’t so funny—especially once she started reading the user reviews. “This book is filled with lies,” claimed one. “Very upsetting,” said another. “Utter propaganda…” began the next. Soon the “review war,” as Koffsky calls it, spilled over onto her personal Facebook page. “I think my favorite comment was the one questioning my mental state,” says Koffsky, who has written more than 30 books for children. Yes, the target of all this rage is a children’s picture book, Koffsky’s latest, published just in time for Hanukkah. Judah Maccabee Goes to the Doctor: A Story for Hanukkah is about a young boy named Judah who—spoiler alert!—goes to the doctor. With cheerful illustrations by Talitha Shipman, Koffsky’s story follows Judah as he learns to channel the bravery of his Maccabee namesake and get a scary booster shot, thus protecting his little sister, Hannah, who is too young to be vaccinated. “We didn’t do this in order to run into a debate,” says Vicki Weber, a partner at Behrman House, the 96-year-old educational publisher that released the book under its Apples & Honey imprint. “We like to use Jewish life and Jewish views to tell stories that are different, and we thought this was a really interesting way to show courage in a small child.” Yet the book has drawn ire from what is known as the anti-vaxxer movement—an impassioned, small but growing group that believes vaccinations pose dangerous risks, such as a long-discredited link to
autism. In addition to the barrage of negative reviews on Amazon, anti-vaxxers have attacked Koffsky personally on her Instagram account. “Your book is a brainwashing story by a mental author,” one commenter wrote. “You’ll be held responsible for all the damages these vaccines caused to innocent children as a result of your book.” Koffsky says that she was not surprised by the negative response, though a bit startled by its ferocity. “I’m sure there are people who have thoughtfully considered that vaccinations are not for their children for some reason, and I disagree with them and I don’t think the science supports them,” she says. What upsets her, she explains, and what prompted her to write the book in the first place, is how some parents use Judaism to justify their stance against immunization. The idea came to her early last year, when she became aware that some Jewish day school parents—Koffsky is one at a day school near her home in West Hempstead, New York—were opting out of vaccinations on religious grounds. “It’s one thing to say you don’t want to vaccinate your kids because you have insane beliefs,” says Koffsky, a mother of three. “But to say ‘and I believe this way because of the Torah’ just drove me crazy. I was really angry because I felt it was such a distortion of Jewish values.” For the record, the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the overwhelming majority of medical professionals based on dozens of studies involving millions of children. And while some haredi Orthodox rabbis have made news for railing against vaccines, there is a large pro-vaccine consensus in the Jewish world as well. The Orthodox Union and Rabbinical Council of America have strongly called on all Jewish parents to vaccinate their children according to the timetable recommended
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by their pediatricians, as has the haredi Agudas Harabonim-Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable decline in vaccination rates in some religious Jewish communities and a rise in exemptions at certain Jewish day schools. A measles outbreak in Los Angeles earlier this year centered on the Orthodox Jewish community, and a 2015 wave of pertussis, or whooping cough, appeared in the Brooklyn haredi Orthodox communities of Williamsburg and Borough Park. Neither Koffsky nor Weber say they
expect the book to change the minds of hardened anti-vaxxers. Rather, Koffsky hopes to reassure parents who are vaccinating. A handful of pro-vaccine and science-focused websites—usually not a popular forum for critiquing children’s Hanukkah books—have weighed in. A reviewer who blogs as The Vaccine Mom praised Judah Maccabee Goes to the Doctor as a needed addition to family dialogue and wrote that her young daughter “thought the Hanukkah story was very interesting. We learned something new!”
jewishnewsva.org | December 4, 2017 | Hanukkah | Jewish News | 21
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(JTA)—The holidays are a wonderful time to share meals with friends and family—but must they be heavy and calorie filled? For Hanukkah, this simple and tasty Asian-inspired menu uses oil per the holiday tradition, but it’s low in calories and rich in flavors, colors, and textures. My bet is, your guests won’t even know the difference between regular fried rice and your version of this special cauliflower fried rice. Cauliflower, by the way, is an excellent stand-in for many popular carbohydrates—potatoes (mashed cauliflower), rice (as prepared here), and pizza crust (you’ll never believe how delicious cauliflower pizza is). Gochujang is a thick Korean sauce, similar to a spicy barbecue sauce. It’s wonderful on chicken, vegetables, or here with meaty fish. It’s also lovely stirred into rice (or cauliflower rice!) dishes to add an extra bite. It’s easily purchased at many Korean restaurants, Asian specialty markets, or traditional grocery stores. Your guests will love to celebrate with you without worrying about derailing their healthy eating habits. I mean, why can’t we eat healthfully before Jan. 1? Want a little decadence? A little chocolate gelt never hurt anyone and would be a perfect way to round out this spicy and savory menu.
SPICY SEARED SALMON
Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 salmon fillets 4 tablespoons Gochujang sauce Directions 1. I n a large nonstick skillet with a lid, heat olive oil until hot. 2. W hile the oil heats, prepare the salmon by brushing each fillet with Gochujang. 3. P lace salmon sauce side down (skin side facing up) in the skillet. Immediately top with the lid. 4. Cook for about 2 minutes on high heat, then remove the lid and flip skin side down. Immediately top with the lid again. Turn down the heat. 5. Continue to cook until your desired temperature. In this preparation, I like my salmon cooked all the way through, which takes about 8 minutes, depending on thickness. 6. Serve immediately.
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Note: This sauce is spicy and wafts into the air. Always make this dish with your range’s fan on!
Hanukkah 5778 CAULIFLOWER RICE
Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 1 teaspoon minced ginger 1 onion, sliced 1 head cauliflower, cleaned and stems removed 1 cup chopped broccoli 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup peas 1 egg 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 tablespoon soy sauce Sesame seeds Pickled radish (I always purchase at a local Korean restaurant—they are easy to make, but even easier to buy.) Directions 1. I n a food processor or blender, pulse cauliflower florets to resemble rice. Do this in batches and set aside.
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2. I n a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil and cook garlic, ginger and onions until soft and fragrant.
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jewishnewsva.org | December 4, 2017 | Hanukkah | Jewish News | 23
Hanukkah 5778 happenings Tidewater Chavurah to celebrate Hanukkah Shabbat
JCC Seniors Club plans Hanukkah celebration
YAD Happy Hour: Hanukkah edition
Friday, Dec. 15, 6 pm Old Donation Episcopal Church
Wednesday, Dec. 20, 1:30 pm Simon Family JCC
Thursday, Dec. 14, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
T
idewater Chavurah has moved its second-Friday Shabbat service so that it can celebrate Shabbat during Hanukkah. The festivities will begin with a latke dinner at 6 pm, continuing with a Shabbat service at 7 pm, followed by traditional desserts and even more celebration. The site is Old Donation Episcopal Church, 4449 N. Witchduck Rd., Virginia Beach, in Alfriends House at the back of the church campus. The chavurah will not meet for services on Dec. 8. Join Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill and the friendly folks of Tidewater Chavurah for an evening of joy, song, and Hanukkah cheer! Everyone is invited.
I
sraeli music, bingo, prizes, traditional Hanukkah snacks, and more are planned for the JCC Seniors Club’s Hanukkah celebration. This event is free and open to the community. For more information or to RSVP, contact Melissa Eichelbaum, program associate, at 757-321-2341 or MEichelbaum@ujft.org.
J
oin YAD for a special Hanukkah Happy Hour at Twist and welcome in the third night with a menorah lighting. Appetizers are on YAD; drinks are on attendees. The Young Adult Division (YAD) of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is open to adults ages 22 through 45. Bring friends to celebrate this year’s Festival of Lights. Twist is located at 4517 Commerce St, in Town Center, Virginia Beach. For more information, contact Sara Gottschalk at sgottschalk@ujft.org or 757-965-6127.
For more information, call the rabbi at 464-1950.
YOUR ARE THE YOU ARE THE LIGHT Just like the candles you add to the menorah, you bring light and warmth to our community. Wishing you a Happy Hanukkah!
24 | Jewish News | Hanukkah | December 4, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Hanukkah 5778 happenings Light up the night with Latke Palooza ily
A grand community-wide Hanukkah party Wednesday, Dec 13, 5:30–7:30 pm
fam
Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus
Dinner, holiday themed activities, and a Mister G concert
W
ith Hanukkah nearly here, the 5th Annual Family Latke Palooza promises activities for all ages to enjoy. Mister G, a leading figure in the world of children’s music, will get the young kids moving to the beat of uplifting music. A Latin Grammy award winner and three-time winner of the Parent’s Choice Gold Album Award, Mister G is considered by the Washington Post to be “a kid-friendly bilingual rock star.” Sababa Beachaway, a Jewish youth camp based in New York, will offer a fun activity for older kids and teens. By the way, Sababa means “No Worries”
in Hebrew. PJ Library will also provide holiday-themed activities. Plus, the evening will include a great Mitzvah for everyone to participate in that involves Jewish Family Service’s Meals on Wheels. And, of course, a kid-friendly dinner with latkes, along with jelly dounuts from NYC will be served. RSVP is required by Monday, Dec. 11, as space is limited. Tickets: Child $8/$6 JCC members; Adult: $11/$9 JCC members; Family: $32/$25 JCC members. For more information or to RSVP, visit http://www.simonfamilyjcc. org/latkepalooza or call 321-2341.
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jewishnewsva.org | December 4, 2017 | Hanukkah | Jewish News | 25
Hanukkah 5778 Canada issues first Hanukkah postage stamp MON T R E A L (JTA)—Canada issued its first Hanukkah stamp in its official mail carrier’s 150-year-history. Described as part of an initiative to highlight the nation’s cultural diversity, the stamps from Canada Post feature two colorful geometric designs: of dreidels and the menorah. Each pattern also has an
online explanation of their relevance to the holiday. “In offering the great products, Canada Post is enabling our community to share the beauty and inspiration of Hanukkah with all Canadians,” says Shimon Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. Canada Post made an initial issue of 3 million
Hanukkah stamps and has indicated that if trial-run sales go well, it will make more over the next few years and eventually add new designs. As part of the diversity initiative, Canada Post also issued stamps for the Muslim festival of Eid and Hindu holiday of Dawali. Since 1964 and until this year, it had issued only Christmas stamps.
First-ever regular issue Canada Post Hanukkah stamp, issued November 20, 2017. (Courtesy of Canada Post)
Have an out of the ordinary winter at the Simon Family JCC. Enjoy arts, crafts, cooking workshops, swimming, science projects, and more!
Camp Dates: December 21st - December 29th Monday through Friday 6 am to 6 pm Pre-Registration required For more information and to register, call 757-321-2338 or visit www.SimonFamilyJCC.org.
26 | Jewish News | Hanukkah | December 4, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Hanukkah 5778 My family celebrated Hanukkah with our non-Jewish friends. This is what happened. Melissa Henriquez
(Kveller via JTA)—Salad fixins? Check. Cookies? Check. Menorah, candles, and dreidels? Check, check, check. My husband, kids, and I were headed to family dinner at the home of a dear friend. She and her husband are not Jewish, but my friend is a history teacher who loves learning about and sharing multicultural traditions. Since she had never lit a menorah before, she asked me to bring ours—I was more than happy to oblige. For good measure, I also brought some dreidels and, because our kids ate all our gelt the first night of Hanukkah, some red and green Christmas M&Ms. We’d be celebrating the fourth night of Hanukkah together and decorating Christmas cookies—the delightful mingling of the seasons and faiths in our respective families—and I’d been looking forward to it all day. After all, it’s not every day you get to introduce the special traditions of your faith with others. We shared a wonderful meal and conversation while the kids played. We called them back to the table for the menorah lighting. I explained to the little ones that we needed five candles tonight — one for each of the four nights of Hanukkah, plus the shamash candle, the “helper” that lights the others and stands taller than the rest. All four kids put a candle in the menorah, and once the shamash was lit, I began reciting the blessing to a very captive audience—many of whom were hearing Hebrew for the very first time. Looking around the room—seeing all four of our kids staring awestruck into the bright glow of the menorah, shadows dancing on their tiny faces—I couldn’t help but break into a grin.
YOUR CHANUKAH CHEADQUARTERS
And then, just as quickly as my grin came on, guilt washed over me. “Ugh, I should have sung it, I’m sorry, I just have a really bad voice,” I said. If this was our friends’ first Hanukkah experience, I wanted to do it right, and by reciting the blessing versus singing it, I was not only cheating myself but, more important, cheating them—bad voice and all. “Sing it, sing it!” my friend’s older son chanted.
Sharing traditions with our non-Jewish friends that night was a gift. If only more of us could experience multicultural and interfaith experiences like ours.
I took a deep breath and quietly sang the familiar tune that’s been with me since childhood, eyes averted, and cheeks flushing with each line. “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam “Asher kidishanu b’mitz’votav v’tzivanu “l’had’lik neir shel Hanukkah.” Looking up, no one was covering their ears—to my surprise. They were all watching intently, smiles playing on their lips. Phew. “Dreidel time!” My friend’s son knew about the game from a book at school and was eager to learn how to play. After dividing up the M&Ms, my six-year-old daughter taught her friends the significance of the four Hebrew letters on each side of the dreidel, and then the kids went to town — changing the rules up just a bit, but having a blast along the way. (Now if someone could just explain to me how my
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three-year-old son miraculously lands on gimel every.single.time?! Hmmm…) The game was such a hit that we left one of our dreidels at their house for our friends’ kids to play with. Sharing traditions with our non-Jewish friends that night was a gift. If only more of us could experience multicultural and interfaith experiences like ours, I truly think the world would be a better place. We have so much to learn from one another. People say, “Be the light you wish to see”—and in uncertain times like the ones
we are in, it feels good to be able to be a source of light. It feels even better to have friends who reflect that light, embrace it, and then emit it themselves in their willingness to learn and share with their own children. Melissa Henriquez, a manager at a global marketing agency, blogs at Let There Be Light. Her writing has been featured on Babble.com and The Huffington Post. She and her husband, who is not Jewish, live in Michigan with their two children.
jewishnewsva.org | December 4, 2017 | Hanukkah | Jewish News | 27
CELEBRATE HANUKKAH WITH
Joan Nathan & Whole Foods Market This December, “the queen of American Jewish Cooking” is partnering with us to bring you some favorites from her latest cookbook, King Solomon’s Table. Our chef’s cases and hot bars will feature holiday ready-to-serve dishes for you to buy in store or order online:
Macedonian Leek & Meat Patties | Fried Artichokes Cod with Tomatoes, Plums, Apples & Pine Nuts Sweet & Sour Cabbage | Seven Sacred Species Salad Sweet & Crunchy Kugel | Tahina Cookies
Receive a free copy of King Solomon’s Table when you place a Hanukkah order of $100 or more at shop.wfm.com.* *Good on individual online orders placed December 1-18; one book per customer.
28 | Jewish News | Hanukkah | December 4, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
$35 VALUE!