Jews on Christmas: Ep 299

Tablet Studios

Tablet Magazine

Judaism, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2021

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on Unorthodox, we’re drinking the eggnog and going all in on Christmas. Did you know your favorite Christmas song was probably written by a Jew? Marc Tracy returns to the show to shed light on the surprising history of Jewish songwriters and Christmas music, and shares a list of the 10 best Christmas songs written by Jews. It wouldn’t be a bunch of Jews talking about a holiday—even one that isn’t our own—without a serious discussion of food. Jewish cookbook author and New York Times Cooking columnist Melissa Clark tells us about the chocolate babka rugelach recipe she contributed to the Times’ Christmas cookie collection. Our super-intern Quinn Waller—our Quinntern—brings us an amazing personal story about the Christmas spirit she grew up with, and how she continued to believe in Santa long after all her friends stopped. What’s it like being a Jewish ballerina and dancing in “The Nutcracker,” the most Christmas-y ballet of all time? American Ballet Theater principal dancer Skylar Brandt, who this year is performing the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” tells us all about it. New York-area listeners, travel back in time to 1970s NYC's haute kosher Chinese restaurant, Moshe Peking, for a prix-fixe dinner to remember on December 25, 2021. Chef Eric Huang of Pecking House and Wall Street Grill’s Joey Paulino reimagine the iconic Moshe Peking menu with a 5-course feast of short ribs, duck dumplings, sesame noodles, and more, all under OU supervision at Wall Street Grill. Get your ticket at bit.ly/moshepeking. Unorthodox is produced by Tablet Studios. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation at bit.ly/givetounorthodox. 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 activism in 18 countries around the world, and when you donate to AJWS this holiday season, your gift will be matched to make double the impact. Give today at AJWS.org/unorthodox. Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards recognize 15 extraordinary Jewish teenagers with $36,000 toward their initiatives. Learn more and apply or nominate a teen at dillerteenawards.org/unorthodox. Spertus Institute’s Certificate in Jewish Leadership is a skill-building resource specifically geared to the particular needs of Jewish organizations. Find out more at spertus.edu/certificate.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, J. Crew. It is I, your host, Mark Oppenheimer, welcoming you to the Christmas 2021, or,
0:19.0	as we say, 5782, episode of Unorthodox. I am sitting comfortably in my easy chair
0:29.0	as I listen to the crackle of my u-log in the fireplace, as I sip my Agnog Toddy.
0:38.0	Is there such thing as an Agnog Toddy? I think there is. It sounds like something Gentiles would drink.
0:43.0	And as I welcome you to our annual celebration of Christmas, one of the Gentiles' five great gifts to the world,
0:49.0	along with pizza, gin and tonics, the avid brothers, and the wheel.
0:55.0	No, we don't celebrate Christmas, but we celebrate that people celebrate Christmas. And on this,
1:01.0	air of air of Christmas, two nights before the day on which the Christians celebrate the birth of that
1:08.0	Jewish carpenter born under mysterious circumstances in a still contested land.
1:14.0	We bring you four segments that offer up a Jewish take on this holiday that is as
1:21.0	inescapable as it is delightful for our special episode today.
1:25.0	Former tabletier and current New York Times writer Mark Tracy joins us to revisit one of his favorite
1:33.0	Christmas topics. He talked with us about this some time ago, but he goes deeper now when he brings us up
1:38.0	to date on the way that the Jews have consistently invented and reinvented the Christmas Carol.
1:44.0	And now sometimes the Hanukkah Carol. Jewish food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark tells us about
1:50.0	the chocolate Bob Carrugalach recipe she perfected for Christmas this year.
1:56.0	A story from our very own Quinturne, Quint Waller, about, I have trouble even saying this,
2:02.0	about believing in Santa Claus as a kid and then as an adolescent, as somebody who did not cease
2:09.0	believing in Santa Claus until a rather advanced age. It has to be heard to be believed.
2:15.0	Plus, never missing an opportunity to exploit an intern or a Quinturne.
2:20.0	We had Quint go talk to American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Skyler Brent, a Jew,
2:25.0	about being Jewish and yet being responsible for dancing a major role in that most Christian
	...

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