« Hasidic Comings And Goings | Home | Border InSecurity »
December 29, 2005
Hanukkah: Sintju kandelikas.
All Chanukkah entries can be found here.
A Melty Menorah from Shabot. Don't put your menorah on the radiator cover!
Mirty thinks about co-existing with Christians in Austin TX.
The main theme of Hanukkah is in direct conflict with the concept of Chrismukkah. Sorry, folks, pick one.
The best response to the December Dilemma:
“We're Jewish--we have Hanukkah” is only the beginning of the response. “We're Jewish, and we have Hanukkah, Sukkot, Passover, Shavuot, Purim, Simchat Torah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Lag B'Omer, Yom Ha'atzma'ut, Tu B'shvat--and, most importantly, Shabbat every week.” The child who has experienced thebuilding of a sukkah will not feel deprived of trimming a tree. The child who has participated in a meaningful Passover Seder will not feel deprived of Christmas dinner. The child who has paraded with the Torah on Simchat Torah, planted trees at Tu B'shvat, brought first fruits at Shavuot, given mishloah manot at Purim, and welcomed the Shabbat weekly with candles and wine and challah by the time s/he is three years old will understand that to be Jewish is to be enriched by a calendar brimming with joyous celebration.
Of course, this only works if your family partakes of these rituals. If they go to a seder with no haggadah reading and no Pesach songs, and show up for Kol Nidre but not the rest of the High Holy Days, and never light Shabbat candles or study Torah, then a Christmas tree looks mighty tempting.Some guidelines for holiday juggling for interfaith families.
Naomi Chana on her family's December Dilemma (written before she met her husband):
You know how every synagogue newsletter in the country has a little column entitled “The December Dilemma”? I am always saddened to discover that they involve “how do I tell my children that they don't get a tree?” instead of some of the obvious halachic questions which our combined holiday season ought to raise. Frankly, my personal “December Dilemma” is the realization that I am probably never going to find a nice Jewish boy who knows as many Christmas carols as I do. But at least I have plenty to laugh about. So, in the spirit of whatever you happen to be celebrating, let me offer a list of December Dilemmas My Family Has Actually Experienced In The Past Week. . . .
Not celebrating Christmas doesn't mean you can't enjoy Christmas. . . . or Christmas trees.
Judith | 12/29/05 at 03:38 PM | Categories: - Holy Days
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.keshertalk.com/cgi-bin/mtb.cgi/4409
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.keshertalk.com/nav-commenters.gif)
