Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Lior Zaltzman Last week, I offered some homemade latkes to my upstairs neighbor, Caitrin Kiley. As she happily ate a few (with sour cream, for which she has a slight preference over apple sauce), she casually mentioned her family’s Christmas morning tradition. The Kileys, a Catholic family from Connecticut, have a longstanding routine. Assorted relatives…
Displaced Christians sell holiday crafts at a market in the Kurdish city of Erbil / Getty Images As a Jew, I’m not literally celebrating Christmas — it’s not my tradition. But I will spend the day celebrating the fact that Christians are proudly observing their traditions amid relentless persecution. This year has seen more global…
A mocking holiday display depicting an angel falling into the pit of hell was deliberately knocked off its table in Florida’s Capitol rotunda Tuesday, but was quickly restored by a local atheist leader whose group sponsored the exhibit. Capitol police detained a Tallahassee woman who they said knocked over the display, which carried the tagline:…
The Geltwich, an ice cream sandwich created by Jared Goodman for his Hanukkah pop-up. Photograph by Jared Goodman (JTA) — Hanukkah menorahs burn in the window of Miss Zumstein Bakery and Coffee Shop on Portland’s east side, and inside 22 guests sit facing one another at a long row of tables. The group is celebrating…
Why did sitting in my father-in-law’s Chicago hospital room two weeks ago crystallize the meaning of Hanukkah? Because so many rabbis had talked to me about light, and I saw it there. How to say this without treacle? My husband’s mother and his twin sisters never left. Or barely left. They just sat and read,…
Orange marmalade flavored with 10-year-old whisky. Photographs courtesy of Blake Hill Preserves I first met Vicky Allard and Joe Hanglin, the culinary couple behind Blake Hill Preserves, at KosherFest 2013, the annual celebration of all things kosher. Tucked away in the New Products room, slightly removed from the hubbub of hungry throngs sampling free food,…
Illustration by Lior Zaltzman Despite having nearly no religious significance, Hanukkah stands out as an important cultural event for American Jewry. American gentiles view it as the quintessential Jewish holiday, mostly due to its calendar proximity to Christmas and its inclusion on holiday TV programs. Jewish symbols featured in ads are used to get the…
Illustration by Lior Zaltzman A friend of mine on Facebook joked, “Can you fulfill pirsumei nisa (the commandment to publicize the Hanukkah miracle) by posting pictures of your menorah online?” It’s a fun, quasi-halachic question that juxtaposes an ancient commandment with contemporary technology. But it’s also a reflection of how much amateur photography has become…
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