november / december 2006:

Letter from the Editor

By Benyamin Cohen



I was flipping channels the other day and landed on Martha Stewart’s daytime talk show in which the whole episode was devoted to Halloween. Apparently, with all the myriad potential craft projects involved, it’s her favorite holiday. Truth be told, I’m a fan too. Not because of Martha’s pumpkin decoupage or even the inevitable sugar rush that happens when you consume all that candy in one sitting (you know who you are), but because Halloween marks the official onset of America’s holiday season which continues through Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, and crashes right into New Year’s. And I’m pretty sure Kwanzaa and Sadie Hawkins Days are in there too.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that as a card-carrying member of the tribe I shouldn’t be getting excited about Halloween (after all, even many Christians don’t go near the Pagan festival), but I can’t help but be swept up in the ambience that is Halloween. The weather has begun to change and the cold air just makes you want to snuggle inside with a pumpkin, a warm glass of egg nog, and a National Lampoon vacation with Chevy Chase falling off the roof trying to erect his neighborhood’s largest Christmas lights display.

You see, I think there’s something we Jews can learn from the way non-Jews celebrate and embrace their holidays. Christmastime is the ultimate time of pomp and circumstance. Yes, it’s probably nothing more than the mere mass marketing and crass commercialization of the holiday season. The seemingly non-stop Christmas music. The endless TV specials. The tree. The gifts. The spirit. All the bells, whistles, and Arnold Schwarzenegger tripping over toys in Jingle All the Way. Even Starbucks (a company owned by a Jew, mind you) gets in on the action with special Yuletide flavors and cups. It’s all so special, so warm. It’s something we Jews can learn a thing or two from.

Non-Jews go all out for the holidays. They line their porches with pumpkins and drag a 10 foot tree into the living room. The only agriculture that ever gets into our house is the tiny lemon-looking etrog on the festival of Sukkot, but its sheer size (or lack thereof) just gives me an inferiority complex.

And boy do they decorate. Wreaths, goblins, lights ... it’s like a menagerie of merriment. We decorate, sure. If you consider posters picturing shtetl sages lining our sukkah walls to be the very reflection of stylish design. And don’t get me started on those paper chain links. Not to be the Grinch who stole Chanukah, but I say we can do better.

So this holiday season, in the dark of night, I’m tiptoeing across the street to Jesusland to snatch what I can and bring it back for us to claim as our own. Who’s up for a nativity scene featuring a baby Moses in a basket? A cornucopia filled with latkes? A haunted house featuring history’s worst Jewish enemies?

C’mon, people. Get with me on this. I know cleaning every nook and cranny in the weeks leading up to Passover isn’t fun, but if non-Jews can go survive Lent, we can certainly slap a smile on our face while searching our home for crumbs.

The holidays should invigorate us. Indeed, in ancient times, Jews would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to spend the holidays near the Temple and bask in the presence of God. The least we can do is grab a gourd and paint a Star of David on it.

So this December, light your menorah with the same enthusiasm your neighbor is lighting up his Christmas tree. Spike your egg nog with Manischewitz and decorate your home like there’s no tomorrow. And if we do all this, maybe next year Martha Stewart will have a dreidel decoupage episode. Here’s hoping.

Happy holidays to all, and to all a good night.

All the best,
Benyamin Cohen

If you'd like to comment on this article, email us a Letter to the Editor.