Thanksivukkah is coming! Over the past few months there have been numerous articles and essays about this unique collision of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. For those who don’t know what I am talking about- this year, for this first, and possibly last time, the first day of Hanukkah will overlap with the fourth Thursday in November. In just over a week from today, we will be lighting our Hannukiyot, eating our Thanksgiving Turkey and spinning the dreidel while watching football while eating latkes and stuffing.
My good friend and colleague, Rabbi David Levy, has also written an important piece about this unique quirk in the Jewish calendar. He notes that
Every other year, when Hanukkah falls in December, Jewish leaders and educators lament the “December Dilemma.” As a community we display feelings of inadequacy at Hanukkah not having the kind of presence as the all-encompassing nature of Christmas. As parents, we share the challenges of assimilation and raising kids in a Christian society. Then along comes “Thanksgivukkah,” and we see something completely different. Thanksgiving, being a secular American civic holiday, is accessible to everyone, and Jews are excited to graft a piece of our identity onto this inclusive platform. There is no “November Dilemma,” because Jews by and large are happy to celebrate Thanksgiving and have no self-consciousness about it. In fact, we have instead a “November Opportunity,” one where we proudly own our dual identities as Americans and Jews. We will watch football by the menorah light and we will buy Hanukkah presents at Black Friday sales beginning at 5am.
As someone who directs programs for teens, I think a lot about Jewish identity, and I’m hopeful that this sense of feeling included both as Jews and as Americans will signal a new way forward. We as a community should be on the lookout for more opportunities to participate in what’s happening around us not only with our American selves, but with our full Jewish selves. Look at the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs and its annual World Wide Wrap, which makes Super Bowl Sunday a day for “wrap” events that promote the use of tefillin. Can we develop exciting Jewish expressions for Labor Day, July 4th,, and beyond? I certainly hope so….. ( Click here to continue)
For a complete breakdown of recipes, videos, and Thanksgivukkah activities for kids, click on this article written in The Times Of Israel by Renee Ghert-Zand.
And lastly, for a list of WHAT NOT TO EAT on Thanksgivukkah, click here. The culinary combinations sound pretty awful!
Enjoy and Hag Sameach!! Happy Thanksgivukkah!