Muppets-style Chanukah spoof - rabbi has run-ins with Homeland Security.

Rabbi's public Chanukah menorah, made of wicker, burns up, gets him accused of hate crime against the Jewish people, then he gets accused of being a communist, a terrorist and other "un-American" activities and has run-ins with the Department of Homeland Security...

Meanwhile, G-Fish, also known as Gefilte Fish, tries to order cheap plastic dreidels from Asia in a French accent hoping to get a cheaper price than if he was a "rich American," asks for "plastique" ones and winds up with plastic explosive dreidels, then becomes target of bizarre medical experiments when the military presumes him to be an alien...

Soon rabbi, G-Fish and Jono, the latter nearly hospitalized in doughnut-eating contest, are up against the entire U.S. military, just like the tiny Jewish band of Maccabee warriors of ancient Israel were up against the Greek Empire...

(May require refreshing a couple of times to run properly. Full screen button at lower left:)


Part 1:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/448599/jewish/Chanukah-Mini-Series-Part-I.htm

Parrt 2:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/452352/jewish/Chanukah-Mini-Series-Part-II.htm

Part 3:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/455801/jewish/Chanukah-Mini-Series-Part-III.htm


Series underscores adherence to the supra-rational aspects of Judaism, which the ancient Greek oppressors of ancient Israel could not understand or tolerate.

It is a tradition on Chanukah to eat doughnuts, potato latkes (potato pancakes) and other foods made with oil, in memory of the miracle of the Chanukah menorah candelabra in the temple in Jerusalem continuing to burn, which used olive oil. The miracle of the menorah continuing to burn underscored the miraculous nature of the whole Jewish military triumph over the Greek Empire. The ancient Greeks, defeated on the battlefield by Israel's tiny band of Maccabee warriors, left behind in the temple in Jerusalem cruses of olive oil for the menorah, on which the Greeks had tampered with the seals of the Jewish high priest, hoping in vain that the Jews would seek to relight the menorah with unkosher oil and thereby begin to water down their traditions until one day they would be weak enough to be reconquered. Only one small cruse of oil was found for the menorah that was untampered, but the menorah continued to burn for eight days until more kosher oil could be prepared and transported to the temple, requiring a round trip journey to Israel's oil producing region of 8 days.

The dreidel, a four-sided top used in a Chanukah game, has four Hebrew letters on its four sides, nun, gimel, heh and shin, standing for "Nes gadol hayah sham," "A great miracle happened there."

Gefilte fish, a popular Jewish food, is a cold patty made of ground fish. It is often topped with beets, horseradish or mayo.


Chanukah starts Sunday night.


Unlike Sabbath candles and the candles lit for many other Jewish holidays such as Passover, which are lit within the interior of the home such as on the dining room table, since ancient times Jewish law stipulates specifically that Chanukah candles should be lit in the doorway facing the street or in a window, in order to publicize the miracle of Chanukah. Thus, Chanukah is associated with public menorah lightings such as these (pics and videos), from the French Alps to the Great Wall of China:


http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/449772/jewish/Advertising-the-Miracle-of-Chanukah.htm

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/332841/jewish/Menorahs-Around-the-Globe.htm


http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/public_lights_cdo/aid/104654/jewish/Public-Menorahs-Around-the-Globe.htm

http://www.chabad.org/news/photo_cdo/aid/602304/jewish/Photos-Mobile-Menorahs-Take-Chanukah-Message-to-City-Streets.htm

Menorahs around the world slideshow (with music):
Select desired speed, press play button on the "play controls," then click on "launch slideshow" ---

http://www.chabad.org/templates/photogallery/slideshow_cdo/aid/459842/iid/1105954/jewish/Chanukah-Events-Around-the-Globe.htm



Menorah in Antarctica:

http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2021362/Menorahs-Light-Warms-the-Antarctic-Chill.html

has some similarities with Christian fundies. They try to convert non religious Jews to become part of their group. There are Chabbad houses on many Universities in the USA. I remember the giant menorah the Lubbies had at the University of Wisconsin when I was there a gazillion years ago. The Lubbies aren't considered as threatening as Jews for Jesus because they are not trying to destroy Judaism. But, they are a bit annoying.


That said the cartoon is cute.

Chabad and Judaism as a whole do not believe in converting non-Jews. Judaism is one of the few religions that believe that non-members can go to heaven. Chabad teaches that this must be so since G-d gave commandments to the world before Abraham. Therefore they must apply to all mankind. Chabad has nothing to do with Christian fundies and most Chabad rabbis refuse to share a podium with them. They consider fundies out to convert Jews. A lot of Chabad rabbis would spit on the ground if you compared them to fundies to their face. Theologically there is a vast, vast difference between Chabad and Christianity. For instance, Chabad does not believe in some apocalyptic "rapture" where people will be taken away from a world that "stinks." Chabad believes in making this world a dwelling place for G-dliness, through good deeds.

Chabad is merely attempting to teach the heritage of the Jewish people that so many have forgotten and they are unmatched in helping to keep it alive. They also teach the Jewish heritage imbued with ancient Kabbalistic and mystical nuances that make the heritage live in a much richer, deeper light that many Jews strongly appreciate. This is one reason why Chabad is growing all over the world and many Jews are literally desperate to find out from them the heritage that latter day Hellenists have tried to water down or junk. Chabad added ninety (90) new Chabad Houses worldwide last year. Many other Jewish organizations don't add that many institutions in a hundred years even though some of the leaders of those other Jewish groups are specifically trained to get "with it" by memorizing the Ten Best Seller List that no Chabad rabbi could enumerate, and couldn't care less about. There are no assurances of Jewish survival in such nonsense as memorizing the Ten Best Seller List. Chabad is the real deal. This is why today Chabad has become so popular and is today the world's largest Jewish organization. Chabad has entire countries to itself where other Jewish organizations won't go, even such far off places as Kazakstan and Uzbekistan. Chabad doesn't need any apologies.

One reason the Jewish heritage was partly forgotten is that there have been so many massacres against Jews over the ages, including where Jews have dared to express their identity, such as in Europe and Eastern Europe that were ravaged by the Holocaust. Excuse me if some people refuse to bow to this intimidation. The loss of the Jewish heritage has been described as a "second Holocaust," its own threat to Jewish survival and the Chabadniks have given of themselves with great self-sacrifice to rekindle the flame of Jewish identity and the Jewish heritage against great odds all over the world. This is what they were doing in Mumbai, India when the terrorists tortured and slaughtered them. I know a rabbi who heads another Chabad House in India (in the Indian state of Goa) and who personally knew the Chabad rabbi murdered in Mumbai. He runs his Chabad House in Goa without hot water, proper plumbing, or electricity most of the time. The reason he is there and not some other Jewish organization is that some Jewish officials in other Jewish organizations simply won't go to a place where there aren't such amenities as Park Avenue shopping and Zabars (famous deli that isn't even kosher).

Here's a video of my rabbi friend in Goa, India, at his Chabad House there with his wife and children, celebrating Chanukah, performing a circumcision ceremony (brit milah), celebrating Purim and generally just spreading good cheer. He's the one on the motorcycle and handing out Chanukah doughnuts. The world could use a little happiness. I defy anybody to tell me what he's doing wrong. This man has devoted his life to making people happy in this remote, impoverished location. He needs no special honor. He has it. His personal self-sacrifice is his honor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1xx8hZeols

Some people may bellyache but these Chabadniks are doing tremendous good work. Some people who don't like them are merely jealous of what they've achieved while getting paid next to nothing. The Chabadniks were in Thailand helping the rescue efforts after the tsunami, regardless of the religion of the victims. Not everyone has the fortitude to walk through mounds of dead bodies looking for survivors. Chabad was in Russia during the Soviet era with a vast underground network to preserve the Jewish heritage against all odds and many were imprisoned and murdered to preserve that Jewish identity. The reason that today Vladimir Putin respects the Jewish community in Russia is that when he was a poor child a Chabad family would give him food from their Sabbath table, even though it was dangerous for them to let a non-Jew know they were celebrating the Sabbath.

The Chabadniks were also in New Orleans and the whole ravaged region when Hurricane Katrina hit. They were in the stadium handing out free food and water to Katrina refugees regardless of race or religion while some other Jewish organizations were busy announcing that they had held a conference call and had merely set up a phone line to make donations. One Chabad rabbi in New Orleans stayed through the hurricane to help people who couldn't get out and they stayed with him on the top floor of his Chabad House while the lower floor flooded out as the hurricane raged around them. After the hurricane he adopted a child orphaned by the hurricane. If someone wants to complain, let him first do that.

Depending on your time zone. Chanukah starts at sundown with candles to burn for at least half an hour duration after nightfall. Chanukah lasts 8 days, on each of which an extra candle is lit in the menorah, until on the 8th night all 8 candles are lit. Thus on the first night one candle is lit, then on the second, two candles are lit and so on. Total number of candles lit are thus 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 for a total of 36 during the holiday, along with 8 additional candles used as "shamash" or "service" candles to light the others. The eight day candle lighting commemorates the 8 days that the menorah burned in the temple in Jerusalem without its olive oil being replenished.

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:)

--IMM

http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/452580/jewish/Potato-Latkes.htm

Includes variation for non-potato vegetable latkes.

It looks like she got the recipe from my grandmother. It's pretty much the same.

I use matzoh meal instead of flour, and a little garlic instead of nutmeg. I have also experimented using other vegetables - bell peppers, carrots, squash, etc. I call them tempura latkes.

I hope I have some eggs in the fridge. :bounce:

--IMM

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Tomorrow is the last day of Chanukah, which ends at nightfall.