Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Hanukkah
The Latest
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Fast Forward Assault reported at Chabad of the Bluegrass menorah-lighting in Lexington, Kentucky
(JTA) — A Chabad center in Lexington, Kentucky, will see increased police presence for the rest of Hanukkah after an assault during one of the community’s public menorah lightings. A driver directed anti-Semitic language at people lighting the menorah outside Chabad of the Bluegrass, police told the local TV station. When someone from the community…
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Community The ghost of Hanukkah past
The toughest question was not: what items to keep and what to let go of? Standing in my fully filled childhood home after my father’s death in 2015, the real kishka cruncher was: which memories to keep and which to let go of? At age 50, my bittersweet job was to partner with my big…
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Community Our era’s Maccabee moment is now
This year, we have to remember the original meaning of Hanukkah. What many of us associate with the holiday — a little bit of oil miraculously going a long way — seems profoundly underwhelming for a God who creates the world and redeems nations from slavery. Some will say it is precisely this fact, that…
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Community The joy of Hanukkah gift giving — even during a pandemic
There is often confusion among Jews around the globe about why, when and how the tradition of Hanukkah gift-giving originated. Has exchanging gifts with loved ones and friends always been a part of the tradition? Why do we do it? There is nothing in religious texts nor the original retellings of the Maccabees that specifically…
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Fast Forward At final White House Hanukkah party, Trump talks up ‘four more years’
WASHINGTON (JTA) — To cries of “four more years,” President Donald Trump told guests at a White House Hanukkah Party that he could stay in office “if certain people have wisdom and courage.” Trump lost the Nov. 3 election to Joe Biden, resoundingly, and Biden is preparing to assume office on Jan. 20. But Trump…
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Community Hanukkah – This year… and next
Hanukkah begins on Thursday night…and not a minute too soon. At noon on Tuesday, every cellphone in Southern California buzzed with an emergency alert from the state office of emergency services: “New public health stay at home order in your area. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. Stay home except for essential activity. Wear a mask. Keep…
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Community On Hanukkah, what story are you telling?
The popularized story of Hanukkah may be little more than a story. And yet, as we all know, some stories hold greater power than others. A mythologized telling of Avram smashing his father’s idols lends greater weight to his righteousness and showcases his pining for a transcendent sense of faith. A mega-fish swallowing Jonah whole…
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Life Memo to The New York Times: Hanukkah, like Judaism, is about bucking tradition
“I am not Jewish and it doesn’t feel authentic to celebrate a Jewish holiday religiously,” read a recent New York Times article titled “Saying Goodbye to Hanukkah.” Jewish Twitter took offense, half railing against the author’s interfaith background and the dangers of assimilation, and the other half upset that a woman who does not consider…
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