Happy 18th Night of Hanukah
Have you noticed how this year every store, apartment building, and office building are keeping their Hanukah menorah’s out, lit, and fully shining light next the Christmas trees in the lobbies. It’s wonderful to see the multifaith solidarity, the world coming together in harmony, bringing peace on earth to all corners of the planet. Kumbayah and all that. Well, bah humbug, I call bullshit. Give me a break. The reason why the menorahs are out everywhere is a declaration of someone in the building making a statement that they are with us. No Kristallnacht in our building, not in our city, not under our watch. It’s nice to see, but clearly the underline reason is not to celebrate tonight being the 18th night of Hanukah, but that the anti-semitism, anti-islamic, anti-immigrant, anti-gay, white supremist Trumpean speak and behavior must stop.
Keep the menorah symbol out permanently, in fact, put a mezuzah on the building for declaring this is your position 365 days a year. Why not, why only during the season of giving do we have this attitude of coming together? I understand the sentiment. It's as if the world knows that bigotry is wrong, but it only takes action when it's the season for kindness and giving, then promptly forgets about it once the decorations are packed away.
Multifaith solidarity, acceptance, and compassion should not just be seasonal or trendy. It should be year-round, a fundamental part of the everyday life. Also, these symbols must not merely be decorative or performative. They should represent active efforts by individuals and communities to dismantle hate, prejudice, and discrimination. So, by all means keep the menorahs lit, the Christmas trees dazzling, the stars of Ramadan shining, and the Diwali candles glowing. Let them not be just tokens of faiths, but symbols of love, unity, acceptance, and the promise of a better world, every day of the year.
So, speaking of everyday symbols, this is something you don’t see everyday. The line at Katz’s goes around the block this Christmas morning. I rode my bike slowly against the line looking everyone in the eyes with my best Jewish radar. Clearly, there were the Larry David looking couples, a few young Star of Davids, but it looked quite diverse too. In fact, and perhaps I’m making this up, but it looked like the pilgrimage for pastrami was not just members of the tribe, but people making homage to show their respect. Maybe I am making this shit up, but that is what I felt, great solidarity with kosher pickles, with Lower East Side culture, with the humanity shared around food. It was more than normal X-mas tradition; it was just like those Menorah’s that keep burning. It was a yearning for a better world through the gastronomical connection of a classic deli.
PS. My one-year anniversary of writing on substack. Thanks for reading.