Parshas Mikeitz (Chanukah) 5779
Dear Adam,
It is mostly at this time of the year – during the “holiday season†– that I get to hear “The Chanukah Song†on the radio. The lyrics are brilliant, and the song never fails to make me chuckle. Having said that, I must admit that your song also makes me feel a bit sad.
The whole premise of The Chanukah Song is that even though we as Jews (and especially our kids) often feel alienated during the Christmas season because we don’t have a tree and we’re “missing out†on all the fun, there really is no reason to feel bad that we’re Jewish because: (1) we get presents for more nights than “they†do, and (2) there are a surprising number of celebrities who you may not have realized but who are in fact Jewish and who light the menorah just like you and me.
Now I know that the song is just a parody and not to be taken too seriously, but, as they say, “many a truth is said in jestâ€. And the implication of the song is that we can keep the next generation of Jews happy about being Jewish – even when they are surrounded by the dominant Christian culture which seems to be having all the fun – if they can come to the realization that they share being Jewish with some well-known celebs who are also in the same Jewish boat as they are.
With all due respect to the “Jewishness†of Tom Cruise’s agent, a quarter of Harrison Ford, and all Three Stooges, it’s going to take a lot more than that for Jews to want to stay Jewish these days.
So what if “we got†all three Beastie Boys, Bowser from Sha-Na-Na, and the owner of the Seattle Supersonics! This information will not do much to stave off the huge number of Jews assimilating and disappearing from the Jewish people as fast as you can say “Carnegie Deliâ€. [And giving more Chanukah presents won’t work either, as it is only copying the dominant culture, and is not a uniquely Jewish custom.] And for this reason, I feel a tinge of sadness every time I hear your song.
Adam, cute parodies about celebs we didn’t know were Jewish may make us laugh now, but won’t do much to keep Jews Jewish in the long term. In order to get Jews to take their religion more seriously, we have to show them that it is worth taking more seriously.
One way to do this is to somehow convey to our fellow Jews that since its inception over 3500 years ago, Judaism, like no other religion, has consistently produced and molded great personalities, who through their constant Torah study, steadfast mitzvah observance, and exemplary character traits, have become great leaders and role models who have literally changed the world around them for the better. These are the Jewish people’s true “celebs†whom we should try to emulate, and who are the reason why John Adams, Second President of the United States of America, wrote that the Jews are “the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this Earthâ€.
Only when our fellow “disconnected†Jews come to the realization that Judaism is a religion worth emulating, is there a chance that they will begin to take it more seriously.
To that end, I have put together a (very) partial list of just a few of the great Torah celebrities and Jewish leaders who “we got†– many about whom biographies have been written and stories have been told highlighting their great lifetime accomplishments. Now you may not be familiar with the names of most of the personalities on this list. Trust me, though, when I tell you that they are all great Jewish people – and there are many, many more just like them:
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Reuben, Simon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naftali, Joseph, Benjamin, Amram, Jochebed, Miriam, Aaron, Moses, Jethro (he converted), Caleb, Phineas, Joshua, Deborah, Chanah, Ruth (she converted), Huldah, Boaz, Samson, Samuel, Jesse, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Jonah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Hagai, Zachariah, Malachi, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Mordechai, Esther, Mattathias Hasmon, Judah Maccabee, Shimon HaTzaddik, Antignus of Socho, Yosi ben Yoezer, Yosef ben Yochanon, Yehoshua ben Prachya, Nitai of Arbel, Yehuda ben Tabai, Shimon ben Shetach, Shmaya, Avtalyon, Hillel, Shammai, Rabban Shimon, Rabban Gamliel Hazaken, Rav Shimon ben Gamliel, Rabban Gamliel, Rabban Shimon, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Meir, Bruriah, Rabbi Yishmael Kohen Gadol, Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Yosi, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, Rav, Shmuel, Rabbi Yochanon, Reish Lakish, Rabbi Eliezer ben Padus, Rav Chisda, Rav Huna, Rav Ada bar Ahava, Rabbah, Rava, Abaye, Ravina, Rav Ashi, Mar Rav Tzemach Gaon, Rav Chaninah Gaon, Mar Rav Aharon Hacohen, Mar Rav Nechemiah, Rav Sherirah Gaon, Rav Hai Gaon, Rav Achai Gaon, Rav Saadia Gaon, Rabbeinu Gershom Meor Hagolah, Rav Yaakov ben Yakar, Rav Shlomo Yitzchaki, Rabbi Judah Halevi, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, R' Shmuel ben Meir, R' Yaakov ben Meir, Rabbi Eliezer of Metz, Rabbi Elazar Rokeach of Worms, R' Yitzchak of Vienna, R’ Yitzchak Alfasi, Maimonides (not too shabby!), Nachmanides, Rabbeinu Jonah, Gersonides, R’ Shlomo ben Aderes, R’ Asher, R’ Meir of Rothenberg, Don Isaac Abarbanel, R' Yitzchak of Duren, R' Alexander Zusiein Hakohen, Meir Bar Baruch Halevi, R' Sholom of Neustadt, R' Yaakov Moelin, R' Yisroel Isserlein, Rabbi Yaakov Margolies, Rabbi Yaakov Pollak, Rabbi Sholom Shachna, Rabbi Moshe Isserles, Rabbi Yehoshua Falk Katz, Rabbi Dovid Halevi, Rabbi Shabsi Hakohen Rappaport, Rabbi Naftoli Hirsch ben Pesachya, Rav Tzvi Ashkenazi, Rav Yaakov Emden, Rabbi Yehonasan Eyebeschutz, Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel, Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno, Rabbi Ovadia Mi-Bartenura, Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Halevi Heller, Rabbi Moshe Rivkas, Rabbi Avraham Gombiner, Rabbi Moshe Kramer, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto, Rabbi Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulay, Maharam Padua, Rabbi Eliyahu Chasid, Rabbi Yissachar Ber, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezritch, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Chasidic Rebbes (and Dynasties) of Lubavitch, Belz, Kotzk, Ger, Alexander, Vishnitz, Sanz, Rizhin, Slonim, Lelov, Satmar, Amshenov, Radomsk, Munkach, etc., Rabbi Chaim Volozhiner, Rabbi Zundel of Salant, Rabbi Moshe Sofer, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, Rabbi Yitzchak Elchonon Specter, Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Rabbi Yaakov Etlinger, Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffman, Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Halevi Epstein, Rabbi Yaakov Abuchatzeira, Rabbi Yisrael Abuchatzeira, Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Bagdad, Rabbi Meir Simcha Hakohen, Rabbi Yosef Rozin, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, Rabbi Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Hakohen, Rabbi Shimon Shkop, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz, Rabbi Yeruchom Halevi Levovitz, Rabbi Meir Shapiro, Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Sarah Schenirer, Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, Rabbi Aaron Kotler, Rabbi Jacob Ruderman, Rabbi Mordechai Gifter, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman, Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendelevitz, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky, Rabbi Yosef Kahanamen, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein, Rabbi Elazar Shach, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Ben Tziyon Abba Shaul, Rabbi Aaron Leib Steinman, Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik, Rabbi Shimon Schwab, Rabbi Dovid Lifshitz, Rabbi Yisrael Belsky, Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rabbi Moshe Halberstam, Rabbi Shimshon Pinkus, Rabbi Noach Weinberg, Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, Rabbi Meir Shuster, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Rabbi Nissim Karelitz, Rabbi Dovid Soloveitchik, Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Rabbi Tzvi Meir Zilberberg, Rabbi Dov Lando, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky, Rabbi Berel Povarski, Rabbi Shlomo Miller, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Weinreb, Rabbi Asher Arieli, Rabbi Herschel Schecter etc. etc.
So to you, Adam, I sing:
Put on your yarmulkah, here comes Chanukah
So much fun-ukah, to celebrate Chanukah
Remember that you come-ukah, from a glorious nation-ukah
So have a happy, happy, happy Chanukah!
Happy Chanukah, Adam!
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=542