This year has been odd for Jews. The situation is complex beyond measure. Enough said, it's not easy being a Jew (sung in full Kermit voice). I am inspired to add value to the conversation by celebrating the joy of Hanukkah, and it's victory over oppression, with a festival of Jewish music. Throughout the holiday I am going to pick cool Jewish music videos and reflect on them with hopefully significant thoughts and reflections. The music only need have a connection in some way to qualify. I am going to start a little early to get it going.
Oh and I plan to spell hanukah in as many ways as possible. See if you can pick out the number.
For the first night of Chanukah we have Adam Sandlers Chanukah Song, live in Chicago in 2012. I love live music. I tend towards the music festival world with a great love for beat, grove, funk, jazz, blue grass, etc... If you can shake your money maker to it, I am all in. So I pick this particular version because it is live and in front of a big old crowd in Chicago. My husband is from Chicago and it is quite a town.
So this song brings in pride and connection for Jews. We are a very small % of the population. Jews are few and far between when you get out of the main big cities. Jews tend to stick together in geographic centers of culture and food.
Despite the numbers and no matter how you slice it, Jews are found in large numbers in the public eye. They are main contributors to innovation and scientific expansion. They are active in art through acting, music and design. They are found at the center of the fight for civil rights, social justice, and environmental control. It feels good to know that we are in the company of the great ones no matter our size. We are contributing to the progression of societies all over the globe.
No matter if you are a liberal, conservative or orthodox, you can get down with Adam and his crew. At this time of year we are saturated in holiday cheer, so to hear we are in the company of the great Spock and Fonzi is fabulous. It is also always great to see the Adam Sandler, who has a very Jewish presence with the essence of being a Mench.
Chanuka is about so many things. At its core it is about resilience, about making it through all the road blocks and still having a nation of Israel to call our tribe. I am referring to the Nation of Israel as being a people throughout the world, in Israel and the Diaspora. "Nation of Israel" "Am Israel" (in Hebrew). So when you hear about the struggle of one Jew in a small town school being harassed, or a stabbing in Jerusalem, or the desecration of a Jewish monument in Europe, it hits 'Am Israel'.
It is like we are part of a one of those giant Aspen tree systems that are all interconnected below ground, or like the Borg or something. Yes, that is a Star Trek, Next Generation reference. If you don't know it, it is a common consciousness that all of the Borg are connected through. It is a common computer interface, in the Borg situation. In the case of the Jewish Identity it is a connection on a different level. It could be one of the 7 loops or dimensions, or maybe it is a sense of Zionism, or common souls, or maybe just the fantasy of a bunch of orphans.
All humans want to feel that connected to a sub group that will welcome them. Cheers, with its song, were everyone knows your name, resonated with everyone, let us not forget.
Identifying as a Woman in the struggle for professional equality is spun with images of leaning in to much, or not leaning in enough. It has glass ceilings, labyrinths and old boys clubs. It is an image that has not advanced far in the last decades.
Identifying as a Woman in the struggle for professional equality is spun with images of leaning in to much, or not leaning in enough. It has glass ceilings, labyrinths and old boys clubs. It is an image that has not advanced far in the last decades.
The image of a Jew, now there is something I can connect with. We have more than our fair share of: intellectuals, ethical scholars, political activists, scientists, doctors, professionals, actors, comedians, artists, musicians, and leader. So to Adam Sandler and the Chanuka Song we say thanks for the reminder that from the the days of the Maccabi to today we have had our great ones and we have persevered. Am Israel Chai!
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