By Ed Harris, Jewish Sound Columnist Is it just me, or has the sense of not completely fitting in, which Jews traditionally experience at Christmas, been a bit lacking this season in the Pacific Northwest? As a child growing up in suburban New Jersey in the 1960s and ’70s, aContinue Reading
By Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals The Shabbat of Hanukkah was observed among Sephardim of the Ottoman Empire as “Shabbat Halbashah,” the Shabbat of providing clothing for the needy. Traditionally, the rabbi would deliver a sermon that day on the mitzvah of charity and lovingkindness.Continue Reading
By Deborah Gardner, Special to The Jewish Sound Against all odds, the struggle prevailed. A miracle followed something terrible. Is this the story of Hanukkah or the story of the Black Lives Matter movement? It’s both, said Jews in Seattle and around the country who on the first night ofContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, Jewish Sound Columnist Dear Rivy, Two issues, both Hanukkah related. Every year we host our family’s Hanukkah party, which is lovely and we are happy to do it. Issue number one: I feel as if most of my family knows nothing about what Hanukkah is reallyContinue Reading
Nina Badzin Kveller.com MINNEAPOLIS (Kveller.com) — We Jews have two choices in our approach to the Christmas season: Resent it or embrace it. I for one vote for a big, sloppy embrace. In the name of love thy neighbor and tolerance, I say we hug it out with Christmas alreadyContinue Reading
By Hillel Kuttler, JTA World News Service PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — In text accompanying a new exhibition at this city’s National Museum of American Jewish History, Sammy Davis Jr. is quoted on why he converted to Judaism. “I became a Jew because I was ready and willing to understand the plightContinue Reading
By Robert Gluck, JNS.org The miracle of Hanukkah is an epic story of conservation, as one day’s worth of oil lasted for eight days in the Jewish Temple. Now, in some circles, energy conservation and energy independence are increasing hallmarks of modern-day Hanukkah. One of the first organizations to emphasizeContinue Reading
Here’s how David Krantz, president and chairperson of Aytzim: Ecological Judaism, suggests how you can take on a new environmental commitment for each day of Hanukkah: Change incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent or, better yet, LED bulbs. Commit to wearing sweaters in the winter instead of turning up theContinue Reading
By Jamie Geller, JNS.org The average Hanukkah sufganiya (jelly donut) has between 300 and 400 calories of nearly pure oil and fat. In honor of the miracle God bestowed upon the Maccabees, making oil meant for just a day last eight days, the delicious donut and other traditionally oily HanukkahContinue Reading
By Rita Berman Frischer, Special to the Jewish Sound Whenever I think I’ve seen every possible spin on a Hanukkah book for kids, something new comes along. Just this morning I was singing “This Land is My Land” with a chorus of ex-hippie contemporaries, so you may understand why IContinue Reading
By Michael Natkin, Jewish Sound Columnist An all-out hanukkah latke binge is something I look forward to every year, and I’m a purist. Please do not darken my doorstep with tales of pumpkin-chipotle latkes or Thai-spice latkes. For me, a latke should contain: Russet potato, onion, egg, salt, and beContinue Reading
By Rita Berman Frischer, Special to the Jewish Sound Sometimes it seems like a miracle how many different books on Hanukkah are out there. One of the newest and best is It’s A Miracle: A Hanukkah Storybook by Stephanie Spinner, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (Simon & Shuster/Aladdin; ages 4-8). AContinue Reading
By Matt Robinson, JNS.org When his son asked for The Elf on the Shelf — the famed Christmas toy said to keep an eye on children and report back to Santa Claus regarding their behavior — entrepreneur Neal Hoffman says he felt an admitted pang of “elf envy” and saw theContinue Reading
