A Confused Hanukkah
A Confused Hanukkah
By Jon Koons With Illustrations by S.D. Schindler
Dutton Children’s Books
——-
Hanukkah is fast approaching in the Village of Chelm, a very simple town with some very simple people (“some might even call them fools”). Meanwhile, the rabbi has disappeared, and even the wise men can’t remember how to celebrate. Yossel bravely volunteers to travel to Tevka for help, but when his trusty steed, Bubkes, takes a wrong turn, they wind up lost (and even more confused) in the Big City. Impressed by the brick buildings and cobblestone streets, he absorbs holiday sights and sounds that he mistakenly thinks must be right. With the benefit of Yossel’s newfound wisdom, soon the people of Chelm are decorating trees with matzo balls and dreidels, and gathering around Hanukkah Hershel, a fat man in a blue-velvet suit. Luckily, the rabbi returns to town just in the nick of time. “Not to worry,” he says. “The confusion in your head is small compared to the wisdom in your heart.” Although it’s hard to imagine Eastern European Jews ever confusing Christmas with Hanukkah, the lesson will likely not be lost on American children today.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.