Seattle’s Rap Miracle: How D Black Saw the Light

By Eric Steitz December 17, 2013

To the Jewish world, the name Damian Black means very little. He was a rapper from outside of Seattle, with his own music label and growing popularity. Unfortunately, as many can attest, success can make others feel threatened and force a response. Another rapper in the community did just that. He threatened D Black, as…

Read More...

My Thanksgivukkah Dilemmukkah: A Retrospective

By Dani Plung December 5, 2013

  Over the past several weeks, reminders of the occurrence of Thanksgivukah were impossible to avoid. Hanukkah was to coincide with Thanksgiving, for the first time in over 100 years and for what will allegedly be the last time in 70,000 years. Surely, this was an event this dramatic could not be overlooked! On the…

Read More...

On Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and the Deal with Iran

By Amram Altzman December 2, 2013

“You and I can change the world”  The refrain from Arik Einstein’s iconic song, “Ani ve-Atah” (literally, “You and I” — no, Lady Gaga, you didn’t have the song first) seems to ring especially true as we enter Hanukkah and Thanksgiving and as news breaks of the United States and Iran agreeing to enter formal…

Read More...

Don’t Be So Quick to Dismiss Chanukah

By Editorial Board December 11, 2012

We’ve all heard the story: Chanukah, the festival of lights, celebrates the miraculous event that occurred a couple thousand years back, where the Maccabees and their friends only had enough oil to kindle their menorah for one day, but it somehow lasted for eight days and nights. We’ve also heard this story: Chanukah is an…

Read More...

The Best Chanukah Gifts You Should Never Buy

By Simi Lichtman December 5, 2012

It’s Chanukah again, and unless you want to buy your friends a chocolate Santa (they are kosher…) the Jewish gift options are usually limited to yet another funky dreidel. Not that that’s bad. Dreidel is a highly underrated game. But most people already have at least one plastic dreidel they can dredge up from their…

Read More...

Oprah and Chabad; Jesus for Hanukkah; and more. [Required Reading]

By John Propper February 10, 2012

  Oprah goes Hasid [Chabad] Visiting Hasidic communities in Brooklyn for an upcoming episode in her latest program, Oprah sat down for a special interview with Chabad Rabbi Motti Seligson. Oprah discussed misconceptions about the role of women in Orthodox Judaism, the importance of family, and living a life of meaning. When asked by Seligson…

Read More...

December Without the Dilemma

By bspringer December 9, 2010

Christmas! ’Tis the season, and at our house Santa is an equal opportunity present provider. Hadn’t you heard? Santa Claus? Formerly Shlomo Clausstein, total Heeb. I know we’re not the only Jewish family to celebrate Christmas in addition to Hanukkah. I’m sure there are plenty of us out there. Some might call it assimilation. I…

Read More...

The (Double) Reading List: When a “Maccabeats” reference goes too far

By Ben Sales December 8, 2010

Today the concerned and compassionate editors of New Voices are offering you a double reading list to apologize for dropping the ball on these roundups yesterday and on Monday. Enjoy these ten worthwhile links from the Jewish internet: We all love Maccabeatlemania, but here’s how we shouldn’t use the craze that’s sweeping American Jewry. On…

Read More...

Menorah at UF Vandalized

By Ben Sales December 6, 2010

A group of about ten vandals damaged the University of Florida Hillel’s menorah early Saturday morning, according to Hillel Executive Director Keith Dvorchik. Dvorchik told New Voices that at around 11 p.m. on Friday night, Hillel staff saw about ten men walking through Hillel’s property shouting, “F-ck you, Jews! Happy Hanukkah!” Police came and told the men…

Read More...

The Hanukkah History

By Carly Silver November 30, 2010

It’s time to investigate Hanukkah. For those of us who have a cursory knowledge of the holiday, Hanukkah means the triumph of Jews over the Greeks, Judaism over foreign religions, and the power of G-d against pagan outsiders. However, when one looks at the Maccabees themselves, they are not as black-and-white as some may think….

Read More...

Hanukkah….in Summer

By Carly Silver July 8, 2010

After I got home from work today, I pried my hair off my sweat-soaked neck and flopped down on my bed. Flipping on the air conditioning, I turned my computer on and searched for an episode of Friends that I hadn’t seen yet. Knowing there were none, I settled into a re-run, as happily as…

Read More...

The Good Fight

By Ben Sales December 16, 2009

I love forgetting Christmas. In America, this was impossible. Come Thanksgiving I would lose myself in a rush of jingles, trees and presents, but when I went to Israel in the December of my senior year I noticed that everything seemed quieter: fewer songs blared through public speakers, the malls were less crowded and the…

Read More...

It’s So Much “Fun-akkah” to Celebrate Hanukkah

By Carly Silver December 9, 2009

Oy. What’s set the kvetchometer off this time, you may ask? It’s not that I have a theological problem with this, but it’s just…a bit strange. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, a Mormon, has written and performed a Hanukkah song to be released online. When I first heard the news, I thought it a bit strange….

Read More...