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Dec
20
Such a shame because John Campanelli does a great job in this Plain Dealer article exploring the evolution of the holiday and using individuals to explain how mainstream Chanukah is now compared to 20-30 years ago. He has his idea as to just what exploded it into the mainstream and while I smile at the thought, it is kind of weird to think that this one song did all that. But just maybe it did. It’s a miracle, as we like to say at Chanukah.
The Original Chanukah Song:
Adam Sandler’s Second Version (all new Jews!):
Adam Sandler’s Third Version (the intro is for the video production company)
Everyone have a great holiday season. Here’s a photo of me pointing out the Chanukiah case on the outside of a home in the Old City of Jerusalem. Displaying the lit candles on the chanukiah (menorah) dates back to the beginning of the holiday.
Israeli Jews display chanukiot on the outside of the home
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:26 am December 20th, 2008 in Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Media, Ohio, Politics, Religion, Writing
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14 Responses to “PD’s Campanelli does nice job on Chanukah but commenters can’t resist anti-Semitism”
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Why do you feel that there is so much anti-Semitism alive today? What events continue to flame this bigotry? As a non-Jew, I am not in touch with it at all.
Why I think there is anti-Semitism and what flames the bigotry is irrelevant. We need to be asking the people expressing the anti-Semitism re: why do they have those sentiments? What provokes them to feel that way?
Learning about that is what matters and would help us know what to address, and how.
Stores might say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” (and that’s not universal, I’d like to note), but it’s hardly “under attack” as a surprising number of people like to shriek every year. When every stranger we meet asks my children if they’ve written to Santa yet, it’s a bit wearing. But I think that is part of the point Campanelli made — by giving Jewish children their own December holiday, they have a fun parallel celebration instead of simply being the kids who are ignored by Santa.
Given the recent concentration on oil prices, we could attempt another revolution in Chanukah’s perception: the original holiday celebrating fuel efficiency
TY Jill for saving me from having to ferret these out. I swear the Sandler songs are on my top ten all time favorites. It’s impossible to listen to them and not feel commaraderie and joy. Happy Hannukah! I spell it differently than you do
Jill,
Thanks for pointing this out; we’ve deleted some comments. And please note that anyone can click the link to report a comment as “inappropriate” to alert us.
John Kroll
News Impact Editor
The Plain Dealer
cleveland.com
“Why do you feel that there is so much anti-Semitism alive today? What events continue to flame this bigotry? As a non-Jew, I am not in touch with it at all.”
I asked that question along time ago of a friend, she was my first real Jewish friend, and still is, still a friend and always will be. She said I have no idea, and was hurt by me asking.
In general persecution and discrimination is based on generalizations. The response is insecurity, that being the natural reaction is unsettling to be the object of persecution. The ideal response is to be better or rise above it, the pursuit of excellence. The challenge to be better met. Then rising above and attaining more brings back the security and addresses the persecution succinctly. Learning also to be different and that it is ok builds character.
Logic reason and conviction, people sometimes promote stereotypes actually from both sides, calling one that and then even playing into it. You are so that, I am so that.
Haha behavior modification is sooo difficult.
You are you and you happen to be, the individual that is also….
You would have to dedicate your live to answer the question, over two thousand years of comprehensive review…think about it, America is great idea and what it represents try not to screw it up. People can discriminate, they always will, try not to and for gods sake do not persecute. It’s not black and white it’s a gradient, it is rarely ever that defined, it’s always a bit grey.
I have many people around me I like, heck I enjoy most people, it’s very foolish to take an aspect of what a person is and then make that the reason for resentment. Even the use of the term has manifested into ignorant interpretations. An anti-Semite was a person that left what was Semite. But getting people to under stand that is like telling them that irregardless literally means the opposite of regardless, which already mean you do not care.
You either are Semite or you are not, if you are against an entire group of people then you are overtly judgmental over people that you do not know, are they all the same? That’s why I have trouble with ism and ists, group think can be volatile.
I am not a sheep, I often say where did they all go? Did I scare them off?
John – thanks for monitoring. I could see that other commenters were taking care of the obnoxious ones, but it was still pretty surprising to me that the very very first comment was so against Jews – ugh. Oh well.
I know you know I didn’t ask to have any of them removed- I know how hard a call it can be to do that so I appreciate it.
The other thing is, John really did write a really good article – totally about the holiday and the mainstream. The quotes were all great – esp. the Rabbi’s – but I’m biased since he’s my rabbi.
Have a good holiday yourself and thanks again.
Not to diss the accomplishments of Adam Sandler…but here in NWO for as long as I can remember in school programs with my children some of which were before his song became “hip” there was always a mix of songs that included both Christian and Jewish heritage and even Kwanza. Now of course it’s different, the most recent choir performance I attended for my 8th grader which was billed as a “Holiday” One contained no religious references to either Christmas or Chanukah just blah songs about winter. It was rather disappointing to discover that’s how politically correct the public system has become compared to what it used to be here. In fact, one song that contained a part of Silent Night the choir teacher specifically stated it was not going to be sung but hummed.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing that. My kids were not in public school until 1999-2000 and since there, there’s been a mixture, so I can’t really say what it was like before 1994 when Sandler came out w/his song. I think it’s great that it’s so widely played, like Lender’s bagels being eaten by everyone who wants a different breakfast item and pizza bagels etc (fyi the Lenders lived in my hometown and the original Lender bagel bakery is on Route 1 just outside New Haven, CT).
The school district here seems to go in the opposite direction of what you’re describing. EVery year there is a disclaimer on the program about how they work to include music that represents multiple traditions and so there are definitely and distinctive Christmas songs and Chanukah songs. I just wished they’d play a DIFFERENT Chanuka song lol.
I’m actually trying to find a Handel’s Messiah performance to go to with my oldest because I think it’s so gorgeous and my husband, mother and I all sang it at one time or another in our choral lives.
Over the years, the melting pot which is the US got a bit more inclusive. While shopkeepers from the beginning were selling to various other groups of people, the socializing and marrying stayed within groups. Of course that’s all different now with social mobility being what it is, and the political correctness of an inclusive/diverse educational system. In other words, we all tend to hang out with each other now. At least moreso than prior eras. But sometimes I’m still amazed at the exclusivity of our religious thoughts. That is why the Sandler song, when it first came out, meant so much to me. As someone who is not Christian, nor any other official religion, I think I experienced the feeling others shared with me at the time. That it made them feel included (me too) and happy.
So maybe the songs didn’t bring all of us into one fold, our society did. But the songs went a long way towards making me feel better about this time of year.
Now if we could extend this to the Muslim faith we’d be getting somewhere.
I agree that John’s article was excellent. I wish the PD had featured it more promimently. But there is still a discrepancy between how each holiday is celebrated in the msm. At least I feel that way, do you guys too?
There is something going on, some confusion as to what is traditional and what is devotion. Catholic tradition is most like Jewish tradition, very ritualistic. The comfort in tradition, I have two brother one chose to raise his children outside of the catholic indoctrination. The other has his enrolled in parochial schools and they attend church every Sunday.
The schools I attended did not get much into commercialism, not a lot of decorations and singing as I recall. We had theology curriculum and also a science curriculum. What concerns me is what replaces the theology when it does not exist? It was not bible study, a matter not much beyond the ten commandments and heaven and hell. Identifying the wrong doing and repenting not in class, that was done in confession with a priest.
The commonality within is that of the guilt, not sure which is more of a ball and chain I think Judaism has less as catholic go so far as proclaiming that sex is only for procreation. Monty Pythons the life of Brian has a scene…sums it up as “every sperm is scared every sperm has cause”.
My mother asked me if I decorate my home…I said no I decorate a few homes in Gates Mills and Hunting Valley, this is the first year I did not. She liked that, she says do they pay you well, I said very. So when other say it is such a pain I would agree but it can be fun particularly if they pay you!
Not sure when I got the honorary Jews label put on me? I moved to Cleveland Heights in my early twenties, my boss was Jewish and my house mate she was as well. I got yelled at for saying matzo taste just like a saltine cracker. Then yelled at my housemate that thought a rosary bead can be used as jewelry. Then nearly fainted as she went up for communion at my brother wedding. I said she cannot and she took that as a challenge.
When people say you need to take others faith more seriously, I say I just got to the point where I am able not to take mine so seriously, so do not expect too much.
I stopped it all for while, zero participation and then my mother said, all that matters to her is that I am there and nothing else.
I used to think as very young man we need a new religion and then after studying them, I thought they seem worse. I think tradition is good, my mother once said we are not Christian we are Catholics. She also once said we are not Roman Catholic we are Irish Catholic. The apple does not fall far from the tree, but some role down the hill and across the valley and grow to the largest of trees.
I appreciate the comments intended to enlighten my original inquiry. Jill- deleting bigoted/racist comments is quite appropriate. On my blog I have had to enact comment moderation due to homophobic comments by fundamentalist Christians.
During the GOTV week of the Obama campaign, my wife and I were assigned to work out of one of the so-called ‘neighborhood staging locations’ in Toledo. That location was a grand melting pot of culture, race and religion. Blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians worked together as did Jews, Muslims, agnostics and Christians.
It is amazing to note the results when we all have a common goal in sight and look beyond race, ethnicity and religion.
Oengus – you don’t feel you’ve earned honorary chosen one status yet? Maybe you need more guilt or something. I’m sure we can manage that.
I love the lights – I used to drive my kids around the Shaker homes to get them to fall asleep when they were little and it was really just so I could look at the lights.
Carole – that is a very interesting observation about different coverage of different holidays. Last year, the NYT had a bunch of article about Chanukah that I actually didn’t like – they were all these, “I hate Hebrew school, married a non-Jew and finally get to have Christmas” essays. I thought it was very unrepresentative – there are Jews who feel that way but to have three essays (two in the paper and one in the magazine) all about the same theme – it was weird – I think I blogged about it.
I think John’s was more in depth than usual for Chanukah – definitely a different slant, but yeah – I don’t think we read as many superficial articles about Christmas re: what it is etc. Usually I think of them as being about charity and good deeds. So you are right I think – the coverage is different. Not sure what I think about that – re: good, bad, right etc.