Hanukkah, schmanukkah

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah

by Susan L. Roth

I swear I'm not a self-loathing Jew, I just detest this song. It haunted me through my public school years as the bone they'd toss us Hebes so we wouldn't gripe about singing "Silent Night" and the like. I can't tell you the humiliation and resentment this song engendered back then, which hasn't subsided as I teach my son the proper blessings for the holiday.

Roth doesn't do much except add paper cut-outs of a mouse family going about their Hanukkah business: lighting the menorah, spinning dreidels, nibbling on mouse-sized latkes and indulging in orgiastic (and in my view inappropriate) gift-giving. Feh.

I celebrated Hanukkah this year in synagogue, where the Cantor distributed the words to this song in Yiddish. Now that's cool.

Rating: *\

Comments

[brettdl]

I never knew my wife hated that song, but I totally agree. I H-A-T-E-D that song. Whenever it was about to be song, the entire choir would LOOK at me as if to say, "Ohhhh, you're the reason we're singing this song." Like heck.