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If you ask most Jewish children (and, let’s face it, quite a few Jewish adults) what their favorite Jewish holiday is, you can bet that the most popular answer is Hanukah. Why not? Presents, fried foods, dreidel -- it’s the best! And the fact that it usually coincides with Christmas means that the “holiday season” is an inclusive one where Jews and Christians alike can feel the holiday spirit.

But then there are years like this one where Hanukah starts so early that people will still be eating Thanksgiving leftovers along with their latkes. There’s a good reason for this; the Jewish calendar is lunar-solar, which means that the first day of Hanukah can come as early as November 28 or as late as December 27. It’s a complex system put in place by Rav Shmuel in the first half of the first millennium CE, who most certainly was not thinking about how the celebrations of Hanukah, Christmas, and Thanksgiving might one day overlap since none had been invented yet.

For us, though, the ever-changing date can have a significant impact on the way we celebrate. The tough side can be that for families who don’t celebrate Christmas, there’s often a sense of jealousy or being left out. Each of us deals with that in our own ways, but it certainly seems easier when Hanukah and Christmas coincide. The bright side, though, especially in a year like this when Hanukah begins on Thanksgiving weekend, is that it allows us to connect the themes and spirits of those two holidays in a really beautiful, meaningful way.

Because Thanksgiving, regardless of how we celebrate it, is clearly a holiday where we are supposed to acknowledge gratitude for the many gifts in our lives. After a year of such hardships, it’s so critical to keep reminding ourselves of that for which we should be grateful. Thanksgiving is just one day, though, hardly enough time to give thanks for all that we’ve overcome. Hanukah gives us the perfect opportunity to do just that. Each night, we increase the number of lights on the Hanukah menorah, reminding ourselves that things can, and really do, get brighter and better. While some of us may have the tradition of giving presents to our loved ones each night of Hanukah, this year should give us an extra nudge to think of how we might use those nights, even just one of them, to give to others. We give thanks for the good in our lives, recognizing how others may not have been as lucky, and take these days to think of ways that we can help others find something to be thankful for.

The pandemic encouraged so many members of this community to find ways to support others, from writing letters to homebound seniors to helping make vaccination appointments to supporting those who lost their jobs. This holiday season, things look brighter for many of us, yet there are still so many ways we can be a light to others. If you’re looking for ways to help, let us know and we always have ideas of ways you can make someone’s life a little brighter this holiday season. May it be a happy and healthy year where we all recognize just how much there is for which we can be thankful!

Want to know more about Hanukah and how to celebrate it? Go to www.ti-stl.org/Hanukah to watch our Hanukah video and download our holiday guide.

Rabbi Amy & Rabbi Michael 
afeder@ti-stl.org 
malper@ti-stl.org