It’s Not Jewish Christmas: Ep. 295

Tablet Studios

Tablet Magazine

Judaism, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2021

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on Unorthodox, it’s beginning to look a lot like Hanukkah! The Festival of Lights starts Sunday, Nov. 28, and we could think of no better way to kick off a holiday about the triumph of Jewish observance over assimilation than with a special episode featuring some amazing Jews whose work celebrates Jewish culture and identity. Comedian and proud Jew Judy Gold—aka @jewdygold—joins us to discuss embracing her Jewishness on stage and off, and lighting Hanukkah candles in hotel rooms as she tours the country during the ‘holiday season.’ For more Judy Gold, check out her podcast “Kill Me Now” and her book Yes, I Can Say That, and find her tour schedule at judygold.com. Listen to Judy’s previous appearances on the show here and here. Jake Cohen, author of Jew-ish: A Cookbook: Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch, shares his Hanukkah menu (a latke bar!) and tells us why he loves wearing his Star of David necklace on Good Morning America. We’re giving away free copies of Jew-Ish to a few lucky listeners! Check out the giveaway on our Instagram and in our Facebook group. Plus we talk #HanukkahFails with Rachel Kenneth and hear new Hanukkah music from Sarah Aroeste and Jeremiah Lockwood. Tablet’s 100 Most Jewish Foods book has been reimagined as a jigsaw puzzle, memory game, and sticker book, just in time for Hanukkah. Shop the whole set here. Send us your stories for our Christmas episode at unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation at bit.ly/givetounorthodox. Send comments and questions to unorthodox@tabletmag.com, or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube channel! Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies at bit.ly/unorthoshirt. Want to book us for a live show? Email producer Josh Kross at jkross@tabletmag.com. Check out all of Tablet’s podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts. Sponsors: AJWS supports more than 500 grassroots human rights organizations in 18 countries around the world. Made a twice matched donation today at AJWS.org/unorthodox. Rothy’s shoes are stylish, comfortable, and sustainable. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/UNORTHODOX. Chai Flicks is a streaming service dedicated to Jewish and Israeli movies and TV, with hundreds of films, series, and documentaries to choose from. Visit ChaiFlicks.com and enter code CHECKOUT to get 50% off your first month subscription. Harry’s is a great shave at a great price. New customers can get a Starter Set—which includes a five-blade razor, weighted handle, foaming shave gel with aloe, and a travel cover—for just $3 at harrys.com/unorthodox.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Unorthodox, the universe's leading Jewish podcast.
0:06.6	It's me, Stephanie Batnik.
0:07.9	You'll hear from my co-host Leah Liebowitz later in the episode, but not Mark Oppenheimer,
0:11.9	who's on tour for his new book, Squirrel Hill.
0:14.8	Hanukkah is Sunday, November 28th, right after Thanksgiving, and frankly, I'm relieved
0:19.6	that there's some daylight between Hanukkah and Christmas this year.
0:22.1	We're here today to tell you, Hanukkah is not Jewish Christmas, it is not the Jewish
0:26.2	analog to Santa and elves.
0:28.3	It's not even considered one of the most important Jewish holidays to many people,
0:32.3	but it could be.
0:33.6	That's because it's also not just a holiday about oil lasting eight crazy nights.
0:37.6	The real story of Hanukkah is a fight against assimilation.
0:40.7	Those macabies we celebrate were battling forces from outside and within who wanted us
0:45.0	to hide our Judaism, who wanted us to assimilate into Greek culture, who wanted us to be
0:49.3	less particular, less distinct.
0:52.2	Here's the real story of Hanukkah.
0:58.4	When Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem all the way back in 332 BCE, the Greeks saw
1:03.2	their culture as superior to all other cultures, including the Jews with their strange customs.
1:08.4	More than a hundred years later, Antiochus, the ruler of Jerusalem, starts to crack down
1:12.6	on Jewish practices.
1:14.1	At the same time, some of the Jews decide that they want to fit in with the wider culture.
1:18.8	These Jews, known as Hellenizers, start to make changes to Jewish practice, doing away
	...

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