(theo lighting the menorah on the seventh night)
(lucy watching the candle lighting)
it’s so HEARTBRAKING to learn about the devastating attack on bondi beach. i will never be able to understand hatred like that. LOVE and STRENGTH to jews across the world in the aftermath of this horrific assault.
while i grew up celebrating christmas, the father of my children is jewish so i have also been celebrating hanukkah for the last twenty or so years. i LOVE this holiday (other than the fact that i inevitably spell it incorrectly even though there seems to be a bazillion ways to do it!) for me, like a lot of jewish rituals and ceremonies, hanukkah feels like a reminder to slow down, cozy up with your family and appreciate each other with chocolate, gambling, pretty candles, fried food and presents thrown in… what is better than that?
hanukkah famously goes on for eight nights, representing the magical, unexpected eight nights of light from the oil, that was only meant to last one, when the maccabees were rededicating the second temple in jerusalem after fighting off their oppessors. each evening you light the menorah until all eight candles (plus the shamash, which is the extra “lighting” candle so menorahs actually have nine candle spots) are lit. there are all kinds of menorahs… the traditional ones with hebrew writing, minimal, modern ones, whimsical ones (we have an elephant) and homemade ones (the kids made one from screws and wood blocks, one from big legos and another out of shells collected in sayulita that we brought home…) sometimes we have multiple menorahs going so that everyone has a shot at striking the match and lighting the candles (fire is very exciting to kids!)
(lucy made this menorah for us)
(candle lighting with friends)
(ella takes it very seriously!)
(our sayulita shell menorah)
fried foods like potato latkes (pancakes - DELICIOUS!) and donuts are traditional for hanukkah because they also represent the symbolic, long-lasting oil. being told that you SHOULD eat latkes and jelly filled donuts to honor the holiday is pretty terrific. the rest of the meal can be whatever you like - it is not prescribed like thanksgiving so there is no pressure that way.
generally, hanukkah feels less stressful than christmas. i DO love christmas, but to quote eminem, you’ve only got “ONE SHOT” to get it right… the food, the presents, the happiness all happens on ONE day. if your gift giving is off or the sticky buns come out like rocks or that crazy cousin gets political and rude, the whole holiday can feel sour. but with hanukkah, you have eight opportunities. you can curate the dinner guests as the week goes on so that they are people who mix well, rather than being forced to include everyone on the twenty-fifth. if the new shoes you gave your son don’t fit, you have the chance to fix it before the holiday ends. if your brisket is tough and stringy on the first night (that HAS happened to me - i don’t even try to make it anymore, i order it in from saul’s!) you have seven other nights to serve something delicious. so there is great comfort in a longer, less intense holiday that brings your family and dear friends together for more than a week… HAPPIEST HANUKKAH! x0x0x
(sharing hanukkah with friends is the BEST!)
(these two have been lighting candles together for years!)
