While not regarded as one of the major Jewish holidays, Hanukkah over time has become one of the most practiced festivals for Jews in North America. It is when Jewish identity is most likely to be on display in the United States. Whether by fulfilling the Talmudic instruction, “pirsum ha-nes,” to publicize the miracle of the oil by making the Hanukkah menorah visible to the outside world – or by embracing Hanukkah sweaters – Hanukkah is an opportunity for individuals, families, and the Jewish community to incorporate our own symbols and rituals into the cultural zeitgeist of the season.
Many Jewish parents are likely to go into the classrooms of their young children to share Hanukkah stories and songs and foods with their peers. When I was an educator, I often wrote about the importance of embracing Hanukkah as a moment of tangible Jewish joy. And the wish for a well-deserved moment of Jewish joy is just as strong as ever.
Jewish educators prepare for Hanukkah by teaching songs, helping learners create ritual objects, and teaching about giving to others while also receiving presents. Every moment of a young face lighting up in the glow of the candles is a moment of beauty for the Jewish people. But this year, I propose a different framing: Hanukkah is the season of Jewish pride.
Jewish pride is the ability to live with Jewish confidence, stemming from a connection to Judaism that adds value and meaning to one’s life. And Hanukkah, with its rituals and creativity, is a peak opportunity to place Jewish pride in the foreground of Jewish education and enculturation.
The Jewish Education Project created a series of Jewish Pride Outcomes stemming from a recognition that Jewish pride can no longer be a byproduct of Jewish education. Rather, it must be centralized, core, and prioritized. Among its 10 outcomes are numerous spaces to rethink how we approach Hanukkah, and its role in the Jewish arc of learning and experience.
Having a positive self-image
Proud Jews have a positive self-image. Hanukkah is the holiday of visible Judaism. In an ongoing moment of increased antisemitism in the United States and around the world, all Jewish choices are being made through the lens of self-preservation. If I get the dreidel wrapping paper instead of the generic snowflake, am I opening myself up to antisemitic vitriol on my walk home? If I embrace the 10-foot-long [3.5 meters] Hanukkah train as a centerpiece of my lawn decor, will my house become a target? Or will other Jews actually see it and be excited? Hanukkah is a time to grapple with how we show up Jewishly in a world that may make us feel like we need to quiet ourselves and make changes to fit in. We can model what it means to walk through the world proudly, to consider the choice to be visibly Jewish in a variety of ways, and to prioritize Jewish representation in media, public space, and via our individual practices.
Proud Jews express their Jewish identities in both Jewish and non-Jewish spaces through their interactions and behavior. The phrase “December dilemma” describes Jewish choices around the holiday season – most specifically around being a minority in largely Christian spaces within the cultural context of the United States. For many Jews, Christian hegemony has shaped how we navigate this time of year. Jewish young people may want to avoid being seen as “other” during this season. Rather than being “that kid” who adds in a Hanukkah song to the winter concert, it may be seen as easier to just sing along.
While this action and similar ones are developmentally appropriate, educating for Jewish pride will empower these young people to confidently show up as their full selves in non-Jewish spaces. Straightforwardly coming to a Christmas gathering with Jewish visibility, clarifying, if needed, that there are numerous winter season celebrations, and bringing Jewish identity to the wider world in which they live and engage are all tangible opportunities to flex the muscle of Jewish pride.
Proud Jews integrate Jewish history, wisdom, values, and behaviors into everyday moments throughout their lives. Hanukkah has multiple meanings that can be read into its legacy. From the miracle of the oil to the Maccabees’ military victory, to overcoming the push to assimilate, messages of Jewish particularism, pride, and strength are both built into this holiday and stem from it. While a decorative llama with a catchy slogan “Happy Llamakkah” is charming and whimsical, we are advocating for a renewed emphasis on the history of Hanukkah as a source of Jewish pride this year.
At a moment when the Jewish people feel the ongoing impact of Jewish history and Jewish peoplehood, Hanukkah is a chance to pose questions that are timely and timeless: What does it mean to be a minority? How do we connect with this ancient manifestation of Jewish nationalism today, both in the United States and as a worldwide community? What did it mean to show up as a Jew in the time of the Temple and its destruction, and what does it or can it mean today?
In the collective darkness that many Jews have felt this year, particularly as we continue to miss 100 hostages and grapple with the ongoing implications of Israel’s multifront war and the rise in antisemitism, adding light to the world feels timely, sacred, and necessary. As Jewish education seeks to meet the needs of this moment and beyond, Hanukkah as a manifestation and implementation of Jewish pride is a space to explore how we can kindle the flames of a Jewish future of confidence and connection.
The writer is the senior director of knowledge, ideas, and learning at The Jewish Education Project.