Happy Chanukah!
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Happy Chanukah, Pitch. I have many jewish friends and love latkes and a great many jewish dishes. Now, to be perfectly honest, I draw the line at Gefilte fish, but then so do many of my jewish friends.
Damn straight. I try to eat a low-carb/caveman diet, but latkes can't be denied.
Good point. My wife, too. We don't usually celebrate, but we're with her family for Thanksgiving this year. (BTW, there was some dreidel playing going on here that just about got out of hand.)
The first day of Hanukkah coincided with Thanksgiving about 140 years ago (I'm not going to look up the exact date right now,) and won't recur for some 70,000 years. However, that's a bit of a stretch because the Jewish calendar will be in for some heavy duty revision long before that. The problem arises because the Jewish calendar is set up with the months being keyed to the cycles of the moon, while the year is set up according to a sort of solar calendar based on a 19 year cycle which includes seven Leap Years every 19 years-- a leap year being a year in which an extra month is added to make up for the slippage caused by 12 lunar months. The math is complicated, but even with the compensatory month (referred to as "intercalation,") there's enough slippage to cause concern that eventually Passover--which must fall on the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, will begin to move from that date. By the time that occurs, the calendar will have to undergo revision.
Hope this helps -- and most importantly--Happy Hanukkah to one and all.
From your friendly Forum Rabbi,
Hope this helps -- and most importantly--Happy Hanukkah to one and all.
From your friendly Forum Rabbi,
We are blessed as we light the candles on Chanukkah!
I believe pipe smoking is also a blessing. Happy Holiday to one and all.
I believe pipe smoking is also a blessing. Happy Holiday to one and all.
Pitch and Terry:
God's peace on your houses.
My Episcopal parish in Topeka, KS fell victim to an asshole arsonist seven years ago this month. One of the first offers of assistance we received came from the neighboring rabbi, "We've got this building nobody uses on Sunday...."
We met in their synagogue for almost two years. They never charged us a dime for rent and - because Topeka is also home to another well known asshole, Rev. Fred Phelps - they provided security guards for our services.
As we were moving back into our new parish hall, Temple Beth Sholom decided to remodel their kitchen. The guy who signs the checks for my parish told me that we paid for the lion's share of that construction job. And, to this day, we support each others fund raising activities and special events.
Happy Chanukah, pipers.
Fnord
God's peace on your houses.
My Episcopal parish in Topeka, KS fell victim to an asshole arsonist seven years ago this month. One of the first offers of assistance we received came from the neighboring rabbi, "We've got this building nobody uses on Sunday...."
We met in their synagogue for almost two years. They never charged us a dime for rent and - because Topeka is also home to another well known asshole, Rev. Fred Phelps - they provided security guards for our services.
As we were moving back into our new parish hall, Temple Beth Sholom decided to remodel their kitchen. The guy who signs the checks for my parish told me that we paid for the lion's share of that construction job. And, to this day, we support each others fund raising activities and special events.
Happy Chanukah, pipers.
Fnord
I'm going to a joint "Thanksgivukah" party hosted by my American friends tonight. Happy happiness to all!
Chanukah / חנוכה
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה, usually spelled חנוכה pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern Hebrew, also romanized as Chanukah or Chanuka), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה, usually spelled חנוכה pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern Hebrew, also romanized as Chanukah or Chanuka), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.
Happy Hanukkah to all. Having it fall on Thanksgiving meant my mother did not make her traditional dinner of Soup and Knaidel( yiddish word for Matzo Ball), Hard Knaidel's( Knaidel that are baked crisp in chicken fat) Latkes, Brisket, Gefilte Fish and Chopped Liver. I made a 23 pound turkey today and the only Hanukkah dish she made was the Chopped Liver.
When my fathers mother was alive,she would make the hottest horseradish I had ever tasted, if you were to put it up to your nose to smell it, tears would come streaming, it was awesome stuff.
My favorite Hanukkah dish that my fathers mother made was giblets. She would take chicken necks, chicken stomachs, small meat balls and stew it in a brown gravy and serve over white rice. It was a site to see and hear with 20 people sucking on chicken necks. That type of dish was called peasant food as back then every part of a chicken was used and nothing was wasted. Even after my family began doing well after leaving Russia, we still ate that dish a couple of times a year.
When my fathers mother was alive,she would make the hottest horseradish I had ever tasted, if you were to put it up to your nose to smell it, tears would come streaming, it was awesome stuff.
My favorite Hanukkah dish that my fathers mother made was giblets. She would take chicken necks, chicken stomachs, small meat balls and stew it in a brown gravy and serve over white rice. It was a site to see and hear with 20 people sucking on chicken necks. That type of dish was called peasant food as back then every part of a chicken was used and nothing was wasted. Even after my family began doing well after leaving Russia, we still ate that dish a couple of times a year.
Fried foods are traditional for Hanukkah, a reminder of the legend of the oil which burned for eight days. For Eastern European Jews it's latkes, potato pancakes. Sefardi Jews (those who came from Spain ) eat bunuelos, fried donuts, and Israelis eat sufganiot, sugared jelly donuts, probably derived from the sefardi custom.
Tonight, for Thanksgivukkah I made a deep fried turkey. It was spectacular! Side dishes included sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping, roasted Brussels sprouts, and corn bread dressing.
Interesting side note: I love Thanksgiving because it is the quintessential American festival. We truly have much to be thankful for. However, it is also worth noting that Thanksgiving is the most Jewish of American holidays, and this by design. The pilgrims designed their thanksgiving festival after the biblical festival of Sukkot, the eight day Jewish thanksgiving. Following their successful revolt, the Maccabees decreed that Sukkot would be observed late that year, since the war had made it impossible to keep the festival on its proper date. The festival was originally called Sukkot II, or Sukkot in Kislev, and the Maccabees, who by then had assumed the throne, decreed that Sukkot II should be observed every year to commemorate the Maccabean victory. The name Hanukkah appears some two centuries later, and the legend of the oil not for six hundred years.
A happy and blessed Hanukkah and Thanksgiving to all!
You friendly forum rabbi in residence,
Tonight, for Thanksgivukkah I made a deep fried turkey. It was spectacular! Side dishes included sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping, roasted Brussels sprouts, and corn bread dressing.
Interesting side note: I love Thanksgiving because it is the quintessential American festival. We truly have much to be thankful for. However, it is also worth noting that Thanksgiving is the most Jewish of American holidays, and this by design. The pilgrims designed their thanksgiving festival after the biblical festival of Sukkot, the eight day Jewish thanksgiving. Following their successful revolt, the Maccabees decreed that Sukkot would be observed late that year, since the war had made it impossible to keep the festival on its proper date. The festival was originally called Sukkot II, or Sukkot in Kislev, and the Maccabees, who by then had assumed the throne, decreed that Sukkot II should be observed every year to commemorate the Maccabean victory. The name Hanukkah appears some two centuries later, and the legend of the oil not for six hundred years.
A happy and blessed Hanukkah and Thanksgiving to all!
You friendly forum rabbi in residence,
That's a great story, Fnord. I know that my UU church provided space to a Jewish congregation that was getting started on our side of town.
May all of us - of whatever faith, or non-belief - enjoy the blessings of this holiday season. Whatever you celebrate - Happy Holidays to you.
May all of us - of whatever faith, or non-belief - enjoy the blessings of this holiday season. Whatever you celebrate - Happy Holidays to you.
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