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Hanukkah

I’ve been teaching a class about Judaism at Southern Connecticut State University for twenty years. At the beginning of every semester, I ask the students what they know about Judaism. And every semester, several respond that the only thing they know about the religion is a little about Hanukah. They say that they’re not sure how to spell it (Chanukah, Hanukkah, etc.) and that they know while it comes at the same time of the year, it is not a Jewish Christmas but also does feature lights and presents. And how do they know this? One of the Jewish parents visited their elementary school class and talked about the holiday and brought “some really good pancakes.” Some even remember who that nice mother was. (more…)

Thanksgiving

My grandfather, Dr. Ben M. Edidin, was a Jewish educator in New York who wrote books about Judaism and Israel. By the way, one of his books, written in 1940, was called Rebuilding Palestine, because at that time, there was no such thing as a Palestinian, but if there were, that person was Jewish. But that’s a different (though very relevant) topic. (more…)