Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Hanukkah
The Latest
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Culture How Hanukkah Entered American Mainstream
● Hanukkah in America: A History By Dianne Ashton NYU Press, 368 pages, $29.95 Hanukkah, I learned while attending a liberal Hebrew school in the 1970s, became an important Jewish holiday only in order to compete with Christmas. My teachers and, I imagine, many others said this with a mixture of sneer and pity: It…
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Culture When George Washington Celebrated Thanksgivukkah
If you’re one of the 9 million American adults who in any way identifies as Jewish (according to the recent Pew survey this includes anyone who has laughed at an episode of “Seinfeld” or sent back a meal at a restaurant), then you’ve undoubtedly heard of the Halley’s comet of holidays, the Y2K of yuletides:…
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The Schmooze A Bloody Beheading for Hanukkah
There’s no way of getting around the violence in the noteworthy, but often neglected, Hanukkah-related story of Judith and Holofernes. Judith’s heroic action, the political assassination of the Assyrian general Holofernes, is one of the reasons, some say, why one Jewish legal code states that women shouldn’t work while the Hanukkah candles are burning. Here’s…
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Food Hanukkah Gifts You’ll Want for Yourself
Leave the bad bottle of wine at your local liquor shop and pick up one of these Israeli treats for your holiday party host. We promise, they’ll be grateful. Oh, and it would only be right to get yourself one too, right? A Nutty Spread No trip to Israel is complete without a slice of…
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Recipes Hanukkah’s Femme Fatale Made Cheese
I know what you are thinking…. the Hanukkah story had a femme fatale?? When you think of Hanukkah you probably think of how the Maccabees defeated the Syrian-Greeks in a revolt that recaptured the Holy Temple. And once the Maccabees did, the first order of business was to light the menorah in the Temple, but…
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The Schmooze Get Your ‘Hannukah Forever’ Stamp
Sending holiday greetings to loved ones for Hannukah? Skip the e-card. The U.S. Postal Service has just issued a “Hannukah Forever” stamp showing — what else? — a lit menorah. Created by Steven Bronstein, a blacksmith from Marshfield, VT, the menorah depicted on the stamp took almost a week to make. Bronstei had to forge 20 feet…
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Opinion Did You Get Invited to Obama’s Hanukkah Party?
It’s time to check your inbox. The White House has sent out invitation for this year’s Hanukkah reception hosted by President Obama. It is a good way of measuring one’s status in the world of Jewish leadership. If you’re not invited to the White House reception you’re either from the wrong party (in that case…
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The Schmooze Mensch on a Bench Is Ultimate Cure for ‘Elf Envy’
Do you have Christmas “elf envy”? No more! The Elf on a Shelf has some Jewish competition: the Mensch on a Bench. Mini tribe member Mosche is the brainchild of Neal Hoffman, a former employee of Hasbro Toys in Rhode Island, who thought of the Hannukah-friendly mentor after his son, Jacob, felt left out at…
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