How Do You Spell Hanukkah?

The #1 question during Hanukkah is: What is the correct way to spell the name of this holiday? Since it's a Hebrew word that is transliterated into English, there are several acceptable spellings. But people still want to know if there is a consensus.

A non-profit theater company in California, the North Coast Repertory Theatre, even performed a show this past weekend entitled "How Do You Spell Chanukah??- The Stage Show." Their website described the performance as "What is Hanukkah... or Chanukah? How do you really spell it, anyway? What's it ever done for me and why should I care? Hash it out (a nice lean kosher hash) with our hosts Marc Silver and Doug Dickerman for a unique evening of fun and music and story telling. We'll share, we'll kibitz, we'll have a little something to eat! What can I tell you, even if we don't solve any baffling Jewish mysteries...we'll have a lot of fun not getting anywhere together. Oy! Did we mention that we'll have a little nosh?"

Melissa Bell, writing on the Washington Post's blog, recalls that NPR's "All Things Considered" addressed this very question back in 2005. They quoted Rabbi Daniel Zemel of the Temple Micah in Washington who said, "There's no uniformity in transliteration." Rabbi Zemel ordered a steering committee at his synagogue to come up with a uniform spelling. They decided on: Chanukkah. But then Bell noticed that this year, Zemel's synagogue website was using "Hanukkah." When she asked him what ever happened to his resolute steering committee's decision, he explained that he was overruled and "an editor in the congregation made the convincing push to adopt the spelling used by the Reform Jewish movement in North America. Transliteration is an art, not a science."

I've been using the "Hanukkah" spelling and I believe that this has become the most accepted option based on Twitter. While some might do a Google search to determine which spelling of Hanukkah appears the most, I just looked at Twitter where #Hanukkah was one of the trending terms this past week.

I was thinking about this Hanukkah spelling debate today while listening to the Sirius-XM Satellite Radio Hanukkah station. I had to laugh at this song by The Leevees which makes the confusion surrounding the ambiguous spelling of Hanukkah very funny. Check out "How Do You Spell Channukkahh?":

Best Hanukkah Videos for 2010

Here's my latest post on the Jewish Techs blog for The Jewish Week

If you haven't received an email or Facebook message in the past week with the link to the Maccabeats video of "Candlelight", you might want to check that your computer is actually plugged in.

The Yeshiva University a capella group's video parody of Taio Cruz's song "Dynamite" (based on Mike Thompkins' a capella version) has gone viral surpassing 1.5 million views on YouTube and even landed them an appearance on NBC's Today Show. Now, the group is campaigning to get an invitation to the Colbert Show (add your voice here).

If you're looking for additional fun videos besides the "Candlelight" video, check out these Hanukkah videos:

MATISYAHU ON ICE ("MIRACLE")


HONIKA ELECTRONIKA (BY SMOOTH-E)


ERRAN BARON COHEN (SACHA'S BROTHER) SINGS "DREIDEL"


HOMEBOY HANUKKAH
(Warning: Strong language and references give this video a PG-13 rating)


NBA PLAYERS WISH FANS A HAPPY HANUKKAH (BY ELIE SECKBACH)


NEFESH B'NEFESH HANUKKAH ("8 DAYS" TO MATISYAHU'S "ONE DAY")

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS JEWS
(Warning: Contains Jewish stereotypes that may be offensive to some)


ELMO LEARNS ABOUT HANUKKAH


TELLY MONSTER PLAYS DREIDEL ON SESAME STREET


Happy Hanukkah!

Chabad's Social Media Success

Here's my latest post on the Jewish Techs blog (The Jewish Week):

Chabad Lubavitch has always been out in front when it comes to using the Internet for publicity. Back in the 90's, Chabad took full advantage of the virtual communities on America Online (AOL) and then launched some of the most impressive websites once everyone migrated to the Web. For years, Chabad has been a strong force in Cyberspace with "Ask the Rabbi" websites, online distance learning, and viral videos.

Today, Chabad utilizes social networking to not only broadcast its message globally, but to also win financial grants. Chabad schools and service organizations, like the Friendship Circle, use Facebook and Twitter to rack up hundreds of thousands of votes in contests for mega grants by such corporations as Chase Community Giving and Target Stores. In last month's Kohl's Cares contest, twelve Jewish day schools in the U.S. finished in the top 20 of the competition, with eleven of those schools being Chabad-affiliated according to the Lubavitch.com website (Each of the finalists received a $500,000 prize).

Last January, Chabad’s Michigan-based Friendship Circle, an organization dedicated to helping children with special needs, won $100,000 when it finished third in the Chase Community Giving Challenge on Facebook after using several social media tools to get out the vote. And this past summer, 17 Chabad programs across the United States each received $20,000 in the second running of the Chase challenge.

Motti Seligson, a spokesman for Chabad.org and its social media guru explained Chabad's secret in these online contests in a JWeekly article.

While scores of Chabad organizations may have started out as entrants in the Chase or Kohl’s challenges, the network as a whole figured out pretty quickly which ones had a serious chance of winning and then placed its chips on the potential winners. The method has proven to be especially valuable in the Kohl’s challenge, Seligson said. Each voter can vote a total of 20 times, and only five times for one school. Hypothetically that means if supporters of one school cast votes for the school five times, they each have 15 votes left. Those voters may then cast five votes each for three other Chabad schools. During the Chase challenge, it became clear that the Chabad-affiliated Friendship Circle of Michigan had a shot at winning a prize, so the other 100 Friendship Circle outposts throughout the United States rallied behind their Michigan counterpart. It’s not cheating or skirting the rules, Seligson said, it’s just actualizing a social network effectively.

Fellow Detroiter Ronelle Grier recently wrote an article on Chabad's social networking prowess for Chabad.org. In one section of her article she writes that two Chabad leaders, the Friendship Circle's Bassie Shemtov and "The Recovery Rabbi" Yisrael Pinson (#recoveryrabbi) were speakers at the recent #140conf in Detroit. I also attended the conference, presented by Jeff Pulver, and heard several comments from participants about how Chabad's exploitation of social media is so impressive and a model for other organizations. Grier writes,

Rabbi Zvi Drizin, who considers social networking essential to promoting the activities of InTown Chabad, his Dallas-based organization geared toward young adults who have finished college, but are not yet married. He makes extensive use of Facebook to announce events, share interesting links and idea, and post photos taken at recent programs.

“When you decide to go to any party, the first thing you ask is who’s going to be there,” he says. “People have always moved with their friends. If you have a good network, it expands your appeal.”

At a recent Shabbat dinner, Drizin planned for 80 people. After he posted details of the event on Facebook, 150 people showed up at his door.

While Rabbi Yisrael Pinson lives and works in my community, it is really through Twitter that we've gotten to know each other. He's been successful in his addiction recovery work because of his social media connections. In Grier's article, Pinson said that Rabbi Menachem Schneerson would likely have approved of the use of such tools in the advancement of Judaism. "The Rebbe was a champion of using new tools for the promotion of Jewish values and spirituality. His talks were broadcast over the radio when that was the revolutionary medium. So too, it’s fitting for us to be at the forefront of this revolution. Social networking’s value lies in its ability to connect seemingly discordant strands of humanity. The person you meet may not be the one who can help you, but he may know the person who will end up helping you."

High Shticking: Florida Panthers Give Out Kippahs to Fans for Hanukkah

It's become expected that there will be some sort of a giveaway at sports events. Fans leave the stadium or arena with everything from posters of the star player to bobble-heads and t-shirts. Every once in a while, a team gets a little more creative.

And that's exactly what happened in Florida. According to Greg Wyshynski in a Yahoo! News article, the Florida Panthers are scheduled to have their Hanukkah celebration during next Tuesday's home game against the Colorado Avalanche. The Panthers are publicizing the game as "the biggest Hanukkah party in South Florida."

So, what does it mean to have a Hanukkah party at a pro hockey game? Using jelly donuts for the pucks would pose some obvious logistical problems. I'm sure they'll be lighting a menorah at some point in the game, but what is sure to make news is the Florida Panthers' choice for a Hanukkah giveaway at Tuesday's game.

The official Florida Panthers yarmulke, or kippah, will be handed out to all ticket holders before the game. No word on whether the NHL team is egalitarian in this regard and will be giving the kippahs out to the ladies as well.

I know from experience that these round, black leather kippahs will fly like a frisbee when thrown. And that's exactly what the home team will do if a Panthers player scores three goals for a Hat Trick. Although, on this night it would be a Kippah Trick of course.

Who knows if the fans will even wait for a Hat Trick to throw the yarmulkes on the ice? I suppose it's better than throwing a live octopus on the ice like Detroit Red Wings fans throw come playoff time. I mean those things aren't even kosher!

While "Hanukkah Night" at the hockey game sounds like fun, the Florida Panthers deserve to go to the penalty box for the kippah giveaway, which just sounds to me like a High Shtick!

Hat Tip to Dave Alberts of Seattle

Best Hanukkah Joke and Best New Hanukkah Video

Ever since the first Hanukkah stamp was issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1996, this has been my favorite Hanukkah joke to tell:

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Hanukkah cards.
She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Hanukkah stamps?"
The clerk says, "What denomination?"

"Oh my goodness," the woman says. "Has it come to this? Okay, give me 16 Orthodox, 22 Conservative, and 12 Reform!"


And now here is the video that is sure to go viral this Hanukkah season, which begins this evening. The Yeshiva University a capella group "The Maccabeats" sing Candlelight to the tune of Taio Cruz's "Dynomite." Enjoy!

Major League Dreidel Gives News Spin to Old Hanukkah Game

When it comes to Hanukkah there's really only been one traditional way to play Dreidel. The four sided spinning top has four Hebrew letters on it. Each letter tells you what to do if it lands on that letter -- you win, you get half, etc. It might be fun the first time you play, but after several years of playing Dreidel the old game gets boring.

Two new spins on the old Dreidel game have emerged. Eric Pavony founded Major League Dreidel, a pun infested contest to see who can spin the dreidel the longest. And card shark Jennie Rivlin Roberts came up with No Limit Texas Dreidel (NLTD). Instead of cards, players bet, raise or fold depending on the strength of their dreidel hand.

Both games are detailed in an article by Canada's National Post (hat tip to Adam Masry). If you don't appreciate a good pun, don't read on.

Major League Dreidel (MLD) is an amped-up Hanukkah party and battle royale where players vie for the longest dreidel spin. As competitors with such names as Spindiana Jones, Goy Wonder and Spinona Ryder play with the traditional four-sided spinning top, the mid-twenties crowd shouts, high-fives and swigs such Jewish-themed beers as Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold. The league’s main venue, the infamous Brooklyn music hot spot the Knitting Factory, is located in the hipster haven of Williamsburg.

The Jewish puns are endless, as are the inventive costumes. Oscar De La Menorah, for example, sports a boxing robe and trunks in competition. Between bouts, the heavy metal act Gods of Fire play such songs as The Quest for the Latke Oil and Taking the Temple.

Eric Pavony, 31, is MLD’s founder and “knishioner.” “I remember enjoying spinning the dreidel more than actually participating in the traditional rules of the game,” says Panony, who has seen his league grow from 32 competitors to 120 since 2007.

This new take on dreidel spinning reminded me of the Heeb magazine cover from a few years ago featuring the Beastie Boys playing Dreidel.

I'm glad to see people being creative and reinventing the staple game of the Hanukkah holiday. Happy Hanukkah!

A Bris It Is: Bennett Epstein's Daughter Has a Boy

I had no idea how many Jewish attorneys I know. In the past week I received no less than twenty forwarded email messages from lawyers about US District Judge Kimba Wood's decision to grant a recess in an ongoing court case if Bennett Epstein, one of the lawyers in the trial, becomes a grandfather to a baby boy. As I blogged last week, Judge Wood famously agreed to allow Epstein the time off from the trial to attend his grandson's bris, but also taught him a lesson about parity. If Epstein's daughter gave birth to a baby girl, Kimba Wood offered her opinion that a simcha of equal magnitude should be presented.

Of course Jewish feminists around the world applauded Wood's response to Epstein. But, alas, it's a boy and we won't know what type of Simchat Bat ceremony the family would have held.

According to the NY Daily News, "Defense lawyer Bennett Epstein (pictured) stood in court on Monday and told Wood: 'Judge, I have an announcement to make: Hoo hah!' It was Epstein's slightly unorthodox way of announcing the birth of his grandson. But there was precedent. Epstein had cautioned Wood earlier this month that his 33-year-old daughter, Eva, was due to give birth on Dec. 3 - right after the start of his loan-officer client's mortgage fraud trial."

I didn't have to wait to read about Bennett Epstein's news in the NY Daily News. As promised, Mark Fass, a staff reporter for the NY Law Journal who is friends with Epstein, sent me an email this morning to inform me of the grandson's birth.

Epstein's letter to Wood and her response have been so well circulated around the Web that it would appear this newborn baby boy's fifteen minutes of fame will be among his first minutes of life. Mazel Tov!

Hebrew University's Sarcasm Detector One of Year's Best Inventions (Time Magazine)

Here is my most recent post on the Jewish Techs blog (The NY Jewish Week)

Jews aren't sarcastic at all!

Okay, that was me being sarcastic, but the problem with the Jewish tradition of sarcasm is that it doesn't translate well in Cyberspace where tone of speech doesn't come through in text. That's why it makes sense that the ability for computers to detect sarcastic speech has been developed in the Jewish homeland.

Time Magazine's recent issue devoted to technology ranked the year's best fifty inventions and included an application developed at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

The sarcasm detection algorithm, developed by researches at the Israeli university, was heralded by the magazine for its accuracy.

Time's Steven James Snyder wrote, "This is the most important software ever invented. Of course, if a computer using the Semi-Supervised Algorithm for Sarcasm Identification read that last sentence, it would immediately detect the sarcasm. Developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the tool is designed to spot sarcastic sentences in product reviews. The algorithm has been fairly accurate even in its earliest stages: in a trial involving 66,000 Amazon reviews, it was right 77% of the time, pointing to a future in which computers won't just store your words, they'll interpret your intent."

Richard Dreyfuss as Abraham Joshua Heschel

Here's my latest post on the "Rabbi J in the D" blog at Community Next

One of my favorite movies as a kid was 1987′s “Stakeout” starring Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez. Watching the movie on VHS (remember those?) years later as a college student at around the same time I was discovering the writings of the Jewish theologian and civil rights activist Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, I don’t recall ever thinking to myself, “You know, that Richard Dreyfuss is so good at playing Detective Chris Lecce in “Stakeout,” he’d do a fine job playing Heschel too.”

But, Dreyfuss has actually gotten rave reviews playing Rabbi Heschel in “Imagining Heschel” at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York. This, of course, isn’t the first time the actor played a teacher. After all, he played music teacher Mr. Glenn Holland in the 1995 film “Mr. Holland’s Opus.”

Israeli Army Uses Facebook to Catch Female Draft Dodgers

Here's my latest post on the Jewish Techs blog (The NY Jewish Week)

An article in All Facebook, the unofficial Facebook blog, reports that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been using the social networking site to nab female Israelis who claim to be religious enough to be exempted from army service. Apparently, their activity on Facebook tells a different story -- one the army is interested to learn.

Here's the full article about these women who probably never thought their Facebook account would would be stalked by the Israeli army. Does the army have a right to snoop around these women's Facebook photo albums? Is this an infringement on their religious rights? Leave your opinion in the comments section.

The Israeli army is monitoring the Facebook profiles of female citizens in order to identify those who have falsely espoused religious beliefs in order to avoid conscription.

Brid.-Gen Amir Rogovsky of The Israeli Defense Forces said that the IDF currently has six offices tasked with investigating the religious claims of women who would otherwise be eligible for military service. Enlistment is mandatory for all Israeli citizens over 18. Current policy allows Israeli women to be exempt from the draft provided they sign a declaration that they are devoutly religious, adhere to Kosher standards, and do not travel on Shabbat.

But 1,000 women have been caught in violation of the law according Rogovsky, who cited examples of Facebook activity that lead to the charges against the women. One woman had uploaded a photo in which she was holding a menu from a non-kosher restaurant. Another woman had a photo wearing clothing which was deemed to be immodest. Yet another woman was caught because she had logged onto Facebook on the sabbath.

The IDF has employed even more aggressive tactics, entrapping women by creating Facebook events that take place on Friday nights, inviting women, and then charging those that respond “attending”. Once caught the women were brought back to service.

The IDF has seen a sharp increase in draft evasion in recent years. Rogovsky estimates that thousands of women who sign religious declarations exempting them from service are not practicing Jews.

Hat Tip to "Rob the Web Guy" Graham