Path to Confirmation

Dear parents of the Path to Confirmation class:
 

Wednesday’s lesson was a bit out of the ordinary. The topic was Jewish Diversity, especially around Hanukkah traditions. We started with a special treat, latkes and applesauce, and brainstormed what images Hanukkah brings up for us, in our mostly Ashkenazi traditions. Then we had a little history lesson in terms of the communities of Jews from different areas of the world: Ashkenazim (Europe and Russia), Sephardim (Spain, Turkey, Greece, North Africa), Mizrahim (Iraq, Iran, Kurdistan, Yemen, Pakistan, etc.), and Ethiopians, and the approximate dates of their aliyot (immigration) to Israel.

Then we walked around and made notes about the Hanukkah photographs from Beit Hatfutsot, the Israel Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv, currently on display in the Oneg Room. (Please take the time to look at it when you have the chance.) The students (and I) were especially surprised to find that there was a Jewish community in Shanghai, China, hailing from both Baghdad (Mizrahi community) and Russia (Ashkenazi community), probably because China didn’t require entrance visas at that time. (That Jewish community has since emigrated from China, mostly to the U.S. or Israel.)

One picture of a Hanukkah celebration at a JNF-supported kindergarten in Tel Aviv from 1926 showed children holding signs depicting Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin (A great miracle happened there). What was interesting and confusing in that photograph is that in Israel the letters on the dreidels are Nun, Gimel, Hey, Peh, representing “A great miracle happened HERE.” We were all sort of stumped by that one.
 

One of the goals of the lesson was to find if there were interesting traditions from other Jewish communities that we might incorporate into our mostly Ashkenazi traditions at Temple Israel. However, from these pictures, we noticed more what was similar than what was different, e.g. people lighting Hanukkiot, candles, children dressed up like candles or Maccabees, no matter which tradition they hailed from. This in itself is very special, showing how lighting the Hanukkiah and telling the story of the Maccabees have connected Jews from all over the world.
 

Later, we had a session with Cantor Lauren on diverse Hanukkah songs. She taught us “Ocho Candelikas,” a Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Hanukkah song composed by Flory Jagoda, and “Drei Zich, Dreidele,” a Yiddish version of “Sevivon, Sov, Sov, Sov,” by Chane Mlotek. And on the subject of diversity, we hit the jackpot! Cantor Lauren gave us an article that she had written a few years ago on the subject of diverse Hanukkah traditions. The link is here Cantor Lauren's article. I hope you enjoy it and are able to use some of the ideas in your own celebrations.
 

In the next few weeks I hope to teach more about Jewish diversity in foods, music, dance, and other traditions. And yes, by popular demand, we will find a space to set up Gaga and play!
 

Best wishes for a very happy Hanukkah to you and yours,

Morah Judy