Category: Hanukkah

How Do You Spell Hanukkah?

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 6, 2010

The #1 question during Hanukkah is: What is the correct way to spell the name of this holiday? Since it’s a Hebrew word that is transliterated into English, there are several acceptable spellings. But people still want to know if there is a consensus.

A non-profit theater company in California, the North Coast Repertory Theatre, even performed a show this past weekend entitled “How Do You Spell Chanukah??- The Stage Show.” Their website described the performance as “What is Hanukkah… or Chanukah? How do you really spell it, anyway? What’s it ever done for me and why should I care? Hash it out (a nice lean kosher hash) with our hosts Marc Silver and Doug Dickerman for a unique evening of fun and music and story telling. We’ll share, we’ll kibitz, we’ll have a little something to eat! What can I tell you, even if we don’t solve any baffling Jewish mysteries…we’ll have a lot of fun not getting anywhere together. Oy! Did we mention that we’ll have a little nosh?”

Melissa Bell, writing on the Washington Post’s blog, recalls that NPR’s “All Things Considered” addressed this very question back in 2005. They quoted Rabbi Daniel Zemel of the Temple Micah in Washington who said, “There’s no uniformity in transliteration.” Rabbi Zemel ordered a steering committee at his synagogue to come up with a uniform spelling. They decided on: Chanukkah. But then Bell noticed that this year, Zemel’s synagogue website was using “Hanukkah.” When she asked him what ever happened to his resolute steering committee’s decision, he explained that he was overruled and “an editor in the congregation made the convincing push to adopt the spelling used by the Reform Jewish movement in North America. Transliteration is an art, not a science.”

I’ve been using the “Hanukkah” spelling and I believe that this has become the most accepted option based on Twitter. While some might do a Google search to determine which spelling of Hanukkah appears the most, I just looked at Twitter where #Hanukkah was one of the trending terms this past week.

I was thinking about this Hanukkah spelling debate today while listening to the Sirius-XM Satellite Radio Hanukkah station. I had to laugh at this song by The Leevees which makes the confusion surrounding the ambiguous spelling of Hanukkah very funny. Check out “How Do You Spell Channukkahh?”:

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Best Hanukkah Videos for 2010

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 5, 2010

Here’s my latest post on the Jewish Techs blog for The Jewish Week

If you haven’t received an email or Facebook message in the past week with the link to the Maccabeats video of “Candlelight”, you might want to check that your computer is actually plugged in.

The Yeshiva University a capella group’s video parody of Taio Cruz’s song “Dynamite” (based on Mike Thompkins’ a capella version) has gone viral surpassing 1.5 million views on YouTube and even landed them an appearance on NBC’s Today Show. Now, the group is campaigning to get an invitation to the Colbert Show (add your voice here).

If you’re looking for additional fun videos besides the “Candlelight” video, check out these Hanukkah videos:

MATISYAHU ON ICE (“MIRACLE”)

HONIKA ELECTRONIKA (BY SMOOTH-E)

ERRAN BARON COHEN (SACHA’S BROTHER) SINGS “DREIDEL”

HOMEBOY HANUKKAH
(Warning: Strong language and references give this video a PG-13 rating)

NBA PLAYERS WISH FANS A HAPPY HANUKKAH (BY ELIE SECKBACH)

NEFESH B’NEFESH HANUKKAH (“8 DAYS” TO MATISYAHU’S “ONE DAY”)

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS JEWS
(Warning: Contains Jewish stereotypes that may be offensive to some)

ELMO LEARNS ABOUT HANUKKAH

TELLY MONSTER PLAYS DREIDEL ON SESAME STREET

Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah Hockey Holidays Humor Sports

High Shticking: Florida Panthers Give Out Kippahs to Fans for Hanukkah

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 3, 2010

It’s become expected that there will be some sort of a giveaway at sports events. Fans leave the stadium or arena with everything from posters of the star player to bobble-heads and t-shirts. Every once in a while, a team gets a little more creative.

And that’s exactly what happened in Florida. According to Greg Wyshynski in a Yahoo! News article, the Florida Panthers are scheduled to have their Hanukkah celebration during next Tuesday’s home game against the Colorado Avalanche. The Panthers are publicizing the game as “the biggest Hanukkah party in South Florida.”

So, what does it mean to have a Hanukkah party at a pro hockey game? Using jelly donuts for the pucks would pose some obvious logistical problems. I’m sure they’ll be lighting a menorah at some point in the game, but what is sure to make news is the Florida Panthers’ choice for a Hanukkah giveaway at Tuesday’s game.

The official Florida Panthers yarmulke, or kippah, will be handed out to all ticket holders before the game. No word on whether the NHL team is egalitarian in this regard and will be giving the kippahs out to the ladies as well.

I know from experience that these round, black leather kippahs will fly like a frisbee when thrown. And that’s exactly what the home team will do if a Panthers player scores three goals for a Hat Trick. Although, on this night it would be a Kippah Trick of course.

Who knows if the fans will even wait for a Hat Trick to throw the yarmulkes on the ice? I suppose it’s better than throwing a live octopus on the ice like Detroit Red Wings fans throw come playoff time. I mean those things aren’t even kosher!

While “Hanukkah Night” at the hockey game sounds like fun, the Florida Panthers deserve to go to the penalty box for the kippah giveaway, which just sounds to me like a High Shtick!

Hat Tip to Dave Alberts of Seattle

Hanukkah Humor

Best Hanukkah Joke and Best New Hanukkah Video

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 1, 2010

Ever since the first Hanukkah stamp was issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1996, this has been my favorite Hanukkah joke to tell:

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Hanukkah cards.
She says to the clerk, “May I have 50 Hanukkah stamps?”
The clerk says, “What denomination?”

“Oh my goodness,” the woman says. “Has it come to this? Okay, give me 16 Orthodox, 22 Conservative, and 12 Reform!”

And now here is the video that is sure to go viral this Hanukkah season, which begins this evening. The Yeshiva University a capella group “The Maccabeats” sing Candlelight to the tune of Taio Cruz’s “Dynomite.” Enjoy!

Hanukkah Holidays Humor

Major League Dreidel Gives News Spin to Old Hanukkah Game

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date December 1, 2010

When it comes to Hanukkah there’s really only been one traditional way to play Dreidel. The four sided spinning top has four Hebrew letters on it. Each letter tells you what to do if it lands on that letter — you win, you get half, etc. It might be fun the first time you play, but after several years of playing Dreidel the old game gets boring.

Two new spins on the old Dreidel game have emerged. Eric Pavony founded Major League Dreidel, a pun infested contest to see who can spin the dreidel the longest. And card shark Jennie Rivlin Roberts came up with No Limit Texas Dreidel (NLTD). Instead of cards, players bet, raise or fold depending on the strength of their dreidel hand.

Both games are detailed in an article by Canada’s National Post (hat tip to Adam Masry). If you don’t appreciate a good pun, don’t read on.

Major League Dreidel (MLD) is an amped-up Hanukkah party and battle royale where players vie for the longest dreidel spin. As competitors with such names as Spindiana Jones, Goy Wonder and Spinona Ryder play with the traditional four-sided spinning top, the mid-twenties crowd shouts, high-fives and swigs such Jewish-themed beers as Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold. The league’s main venue, the infamous Brooklyn music hot spot the Knitting Factory, is located in the hipster haven of Williamsburg.

The Jewish puns are endless, as are the inventive costumes. Oscar De La Menorah, for example, sports a boxing robe and trunks in competition. Between bouts, the heavy metal act Gods of Fire play such songs as The Quest for the Latke Oil and Taking the Temple.

Eric Pavony, 31, is MLD’s founder and “knishioner.” “I remember enjoying spinning the dreidel more than actually participating in the traditional rules of the game,” says Panony, who has seen his league grow from 32 competitors to 120 since 2007.

This new take on dreidel spinning reminded me of the Heeb magazine cover from a few years ago featuring the Beastie Boys playing Dreidel.

I’m glad to see people being creative and reinventing the staple game of the Hanukkah holiday. Happy Hanukkah!

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Jon Stewart on Bill O’Reilly

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date March 9, 2010

This is a great clip of Jon Stewart being interviewed by Bill O’Reilly of Fox News. The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart rejects O’Reilly’s running mate offer by saying: “I’m not running with you… I’m not gonna be your VP because I know what that’s gonna be. I get one job, and that’s to light the White House menorah…not interested.”