Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hanuka, Channukah, Hannukah — there are many ways to spell it and even more ways to celebrate the Festival of Lights in Tucson and Southern Arizona this year. The holiday begins with the first candle on the evening of Dec. 7. PJ Library will provide Hanukkah: It’s… Read more »
As a way to connect Jews during the pandemic’s second wave, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee will unite on Facebook with different Jewish communities worldwide through a Hanukkah candle-lighting video each night of the holiday at 5 p.m. EST. The holiday begins on the night of Dec. 10.… Read more »
Updated 12.7: The Dec. 13 concert planned by Congregation Or Chadash, Temple Emanu-El and the Tucson Jewish Community Center has been canceled. An email from Temple Emanu-el read, in part, “Due to the rise in Covid cases in Pima County, and new county restrictions for gatherings, we have made… Read more »
It doesn’t matter if you spell it Hanukkah, Chanukah, or some other variation – The Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life is celebrating the holiday this year. The Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is bringing its annual Hanukkah party online, on Monday, Dec.… Read more »
Paula Shoyer
Chabad of Oro Valley and Chabad Tucson will host renowned cookbook author Paula Shoyer, aka “The Kosher Baker,” for a Hanukkah cooking demonstration on Zoom on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. “When I spoke to Paula last week, I told her I was looking for a recipe that… Read more »
The Rintel Menorah on display at the Jewish Historical Museum of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (Courtesy of the Jewish Cultural Quarter/JCK)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — For the Amsterdam Jewish Historical Museum, Hanukkah this year entailed the stressful chore of assembling the world’s most expensive menorah. Last week, the Rintel Menorah, a 266-year-old menorah valued at over a half-million dollars, was put back on display at Amsterdam’s Jewish Historical Museum following the… Read more »
Hanukkah’s proximity to Christmas can complicate the holiday. For those who try to make Hanukkah more like Christmas, it inevitably seems to fall short. Yet while Hanukkah traditionally was not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it can offer many opportunities for fun and joyous… Read more »
Brittany Bristow, center, plays Brooke in the first of two new Hallmark Channel Hanukkah-themed features, ‘Holiday Date.’ Photo courtesy Crown Media
The Hallmark Channel will premiere its first two Hanukkah-themed movies this month in honor of the holiday, which starts this year on Dec. 22. “Our audience is very vocal, and they tell us when they’d like to see more of something,” says Michelle Vicary, Crown Media’s executive vice president… Read more »
I know that sufganiyot — jelly doughnuts — are traditional and beloved for Hanukkah. But I feel confident that once you try these easy and incredibly delicious ricotta fritters, you will be converted to these sweet fried treats. And if I’m making a confession, I have actually never loved… Read more »
First place winner Alex Erbst, age 6
Congratulations to the winners of the 2018 Arizona Jewish Post Hanukkah art contest. All of the submissions were outstanding and conveyed the symbols of the holiday with warmth and love. First place winners Alex Erbst (age 6, Tucson Hebrew Academy), Luke and Hunter Meislin (twins, age 7, Manzanita Elementary… Read more »
At Hanukkah, a text or Skype call can bring far-flung family closer. (Nina Mikryukova/Unsplash)
For generations, lighting the Hanukkah candles together has been the fodder for lifelong memories. But today’s far-flung families are increasingly challenged to share the sight of the candles aglow, the sound of the blessings and traditional songs sung by old and young alike, the feel of a perfect dreidel… Read more »
The story of Irena Sendler, the Polish social worker who hid 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II, is now a children’s book. “Mommy, Who Was Irena Sendler?” by Cathy Werling is the third volume in the Unsung Heroes children’s book series, published by the Lowell… Read more »
“This Hanukkah, let’s celebrate the power of light to overcome darkness,” says Jeff Janezcko, Ph.D., curator of the Milken Archive of Jewish Music. “Let’s celebrate the resilience of the human spirit. Let’s celebrate the power of a gift, given with intention to inspire hope.” As he wrote, there were… Read more »
Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie. The names of the five fictional sisters bring a smile to generations of Jewish Americans who grew up reading “All-of-a-Kind Family,” the classic mid-century chapter book series by Sydney Taylor that followed the day-to-day doings and adventures of a Jewish-American immigrant family on… Read more »
Chocolate Babka Doughnuts
Babka is nearly a weekly occurrence in my house, and I can think of few things better. But it’s not just me: Babka has really been getting the recognition it deserves all over the country, making appearances everywhere from artisanal bakeries to Jewish delis and even high-end restaurants. My… Read more »
The sfinj hails from North Africa. (Wikimedia Commons)
TEL AVIV (JTA) – The sufganiyah is the plump, shining star of Hanukkah in Israel. During the holiday season, the famed jelly doughnut poses in the windows of cafés and bakeries across the country. It sparkles with oil and sugar, and shows just enough filling to keep fans… Read more »
Rabbi Slomo Koves, right, and a participant at Chabad Hungary's 2015 Hanukkah on Ice event take selfies at Budapest's City Park Ice Rink, Dec. 6, 2015. (Courtesy of EMIH)
BUDAPEST (JTA) — The outdoor ice skating rink — the largest in Central Europe — in Budapest’s city center has been part and parcel of Hungary’s Christmas tradition for nearly 150 years. Stretching across 3.5 acres between Heroes’ Square and Vajdahunyad Castle, the Budapest City Park Ice Rink… Read more »
This is one of the nearly 200 menorahs at the Museum of Lights in Casale Monferrato (Foundation for Jewish Art, History, and Culture at Casale Monferrato and in Eastern Piedmont - Onlus)
It’s always Hanukkah in this picturesque town in northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Jews have lived in Casale Monferrato for more than 500 years, with the community reaching its peak of 850 members at about the time Jews here were granted civil rights in 1848. The town still boasts one… Read more »
Books make a great gift because they contain the precious gift of knowledge. Here are eight gardening books for all types of folks, whether they garden outside or indoors, or just cook with vegetables that others grow. To start off — who doesn’t like a cookbook? “The Renee’s Garden… Read more »
