Talk Elections

So Since all the GOP candidates love Isreal so much will we see any of them wearing a kippah while lighting candels on a menorah?

I bet no.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2011/12/president-obama-defends-israel-policy-again-107852.html (http://www.politico.com/politico44/2011/12/president-obama-defends-israel-policy-again-107852.html)

The same thing could be said for Obama.

Ok.

Relevance?

Hanukkah is around the same time as Christmas, but it is not nearly as important a holiday. Jewish voters are not going to stop paying attention to politics on Hannukah the way Christian voters will on Christmas and New Years.

I suppose some candidate could gain some minor support with a tasteful event at a Des Moines or Manchester synagogue. But no one expects or insists on it.

It's not even the most important Jewish holiday.

American Jews celebrate it much more heavily because it takes place around the same time as Christmas and Jewish parents don't want their kids to get jealous of their Gentile neighbors.

Heck, a good chunk of them have just given up and decided to celebrate Christmas.

One Republican has it covered (http://youtu.be/nsHCgCfLe_I?t=4m54s):

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It's not even in the top 10 or so holidays. But whatever. Everybody likes lights and presents. I see no need for a President to fake it. None of the contenders are Jewish. None of them need to light a menorah. It's stupid pandering when people do crap like Perry in the above pic.

That pic looks like a bunch of Jewish Amish brethren or some cocktail like that...

The ultra-Orthodox have a very strange but consistent look. Go to the right parts of Brooklyn and you'll see them (including some of my relatives) all over, looking just like that. Heck, drive down certain streets in Memphis on Saturday morning and you'll see them walking to synagogue. Don't know how they manage in the black suits in July.

I figured it was an orthodox wardrobe.  Considering I've only been to New York City once in my life to see a Reds/Mets game at the old Shea Stadium, and I've only driven through Memphis on my way to Norfolk, Virginia then I wouldn't know the dress.  There aren't too many orthodox in Oklahoma City.

And, yeah, I can only imagine the warmth they must feel in July. :)

There aren't that many in Memphis. That was kind of my point. Even in my smaller town, they're around. I did a google search and there's an orthodox synagogue in OKC. It's called Ohev Shalom and it's at 3901 N. Portland Ave. Drive by around 9 AM on Saturday morning. I bet you'll see people dressed like in the picture.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that one.  It's several miles from where I live, and I don't drive up that way unless I have to.

I wonder what they do with their hats when the Oklahoma wind throws its temper tantrums and gusts over 50 mph.  I would be interested to find out how many hats are lost on those days.

Beyond that; it's one of the least important.

It seems kind of odd for one of the least important Jewish holidays to coincide with one of Christianity's most important holidays (second only to Easter).  I guess that's on purpose so as to not overshadow or short-circuit the importance of Christmas.

Uh, our holiday is way older than yours, unless you're counting the pagan roots of Christmas, which is the only reason you celebrate on Dec 25 anyway. And Jews don't take Christianity into account when we're scheduling our holidays.

It's only about a century and a half older than the birth of Jesus, IIRC.  Which might sound like a lot, but historiographically speaking, it's not.  And as you point out, the Winter Solstice was celebrated by Germanic tribes centuries before the Jews began Hanukkah.

:)

Another reason why dressing up for any type of religious service is a terrible thing and a practice that needs to go away entirely. I like the summer services where I go because it has a ton of cute girls and they're often wearing sex sundresses or miniskirts, very nice. :) Of course now when it's cold that means a lot are wearing those cute hipster scarves, so it works out too.

Don't Orthodox Jewish services also have segregated genders like mosques? Ugh.

No, it's not.  Don't be stupid.  We couldn't care less about your holiday.

I know, I was just teasing, don't get all worked up. :)  Anyway, I do wish all my Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah.

Yes, orthodox synagogues are designed so that men can't see the women during services. The idea is that you shouldn't be distracted by sundresses or whatever while you're praying. Not that an orthodox woman would wear a sundress anyway. They're covered from throat to toe  (minus hands) anytime they're outside anyway. Plus their hair will be obscured under either a wig or headscarf once they're married, which happens at about age 19.

See this is why I'd never visit a mosque or orthodox synagogue. Ever.

Today was kind of weird though, it was our special Christmas service (since on actual Christmas day much of the congregation would be visiting family), so it was quite different in style and we had an actual choir and there were people who didn't normally come, including a lot more olds. Many of them dressed up. Some people even wearing TIES. The first time I've ever seen someone in a tie besides the obvious hipster wearing a tie "ironically" type thing. I'm a little worried about where I'm going on Christmas Eve now and if there will be more ties than hoodies and torn jeans.

I'm one of the few guys out there who actually PREFERS to wear a suit and tie to Sunday Morning Worship.  I normally don't do that, because nobody in our church does, but once in a while I do especially on Easter and the Fourth of July and sometimes Christmas.  I actually plan to wear a suit Christmas Morning, why? Because I want to.

Well. if the Christians can't "get" Judaism, then at least they have Jesus.

And, no disrespect to my friends of other religions or no religion, Jesus is all we need.

An idiotic and yes, offensive, thing to say.

On another note, I love Hasidic attire.  I'd almost dress like it for fun, except I consider that a tad sacrilegious.

It's a celebration of freedom -- right?

It's safe to say that there were no Christmas trees, no yule log, no Santa Claus, no reindeer, no sleigh, no caroling, no Christmas stockings, and no nutcracker at the birth of Jesus, and there was certainly no snow.  

The Early Christian Church selected December 25 to co-opt one of the biggest pagan bashes, the Saturnalia that celebrated the return of the Sun from the south and the obvious start of the lengthening of the days.

You where a suit and tie to church specifically on the Fourth of July?  Because Jesus and America combined are worth dressing up for?

I'm not even sure if Hannukah (as a holiday) outdates Christmas.  I'm not sure if Hannukah was celebrated in Hasmonean/Roman Judea.

Hanukah dates to at least the first century. Quoth wikipedia:

The ancient Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus narrates in his book Jewish Antiquities XII, how the victorious Judas Maccabeus ordered lavish yearly eight-day festivities after rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem that had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Josephus does not say the festival was called Hannukkah but rather the "Festival of Lights":
 
"Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days. And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival. Judas also rebuilt the walls round about the city, and reared towers of great height against the incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might serve as a citadel against any distresses that might come from our enemies."[8]

Records of Christmas only pop up later. Again quoting wikipedia:
The earliest known reference to the date of the nativity as December 25 is found in the Chronography of 354, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome.[