Hey, pssst. It’s us, The Kumzits.
While we don’t officially launch til early 2023, we wanted to pop into your inbox to say hi! Also, Happy Hanukkah, Chanukah Sameach, and all those good bright things.
Chanukah greetings
Chanukah (our spelling of choice) is our very favorite holiday on the Jewish calendar (unless of course, you count Purim for overall merriment or Shavuot because cheesecake. We’re also inordinately fond of Shabbat Nachamu and love the Jewish Sadie Hawkins vibe of Tu B’Av, but we digress).
There’s something primal and beautiful about lighting one candle each night of the holiday until you’ve reached all eight (and then you can celebrate Nonukah, of course). We chase away the darkness, but it’s more than that. Metaphorically, a flame is never diminished by sharing some of its light; it just adds more light to the world and chases away even more darkness.
A Hallmark Hanukkah
Speaking of darkness, we were really prepared to hate the Hallmark Hanukkah movie Hanukkah on Rye, and we did...and also didn’t. We’re suckers for a sweet love story at the best of times, moreso when there are latkes abounding and a song by nice Jewish girl Lisa Loeb. While it wasn’t the best Hallmark movie we’ve watched yet (and while we’re suckers for Hallmark movies in general, we appreciate the irony of grading them) there were some nice details. But in general, we’d so appreciate it if movies about Jewish people had more realistic Jewish people. Don’t get us wrong, we thoroughly enjoyed this schmaltzy mashup of You’ve Got Mail and Crossing Delancey. We just wish it had felt a bit more Jewish, rather than Jewish-style. Incidentally, we sense a trend coming on and we’re not entirely sure we’re here for it. Apparently 1.6 million people watched Hanukkah on Rye and all the streaming networks are serving up Hanukkah goodies of their own.
What say you: Yea or nay to more Hallmarkanukkah content?
A Short and Sweet Guide to Chanukah Gift Giving
Most people we know don’t exchange gifts on all eight nights, heck, they can barely be bothered to remember one. That said, Marketwatch ran an interesting story on which night of the holiday is the best for gift-giving. The answer is that there’s no official answer and every night (or day) of Chanukah is the right day for a gift. We have heard from Chabad rabbis that the fifth night holds special significance since it’s the night when light overcame darkness.
On the topic of what (Jewish) people are talking about, there’s been a fascinating collective conversation about whether the first menorah of Chanukah was actually made of spears of the Maccabees' vanquished enemies. According to the midrash and confirmed by our own Pippo, who spends some of his time as a professor of comparative religion, the answer is yes. Much like Game of Thrones’ Iron Throne, the first menorah was a DIY upcycled masterpiece created from the spears of the fleeing Syrian soldiers. And here’s a longer article on the topic.
Scroll down for our slightly passive aggressive last-minute Chanukah gift guide.
Meanwhile, if you’re starved for Chanukah or warm and fuzzy Jewish articles and events, the internet is full of fun and interesting content. Thanks to roving reporter Ruta for tracking down some really fun articles or things to watch including:
Best Hanukkah events in NYC (Time Out)
Hanukkah themed Maccabee pop-up bars in several cities (Time Out)
Where to find the best sufganiyot in NYC (Time Out)
The Kumzits editor-in-chief Rachel wrote a couple of fun Chanukah articles as well:
Reclaiming Pride in Kosher Food (OZY). Be sure to keep scrolling down through the article since there are a ton of sneaker ads throughout.
What is Chrismukkah? (Readers Digest)
What are the colors of Hanukkah? (Readers Digest)
Last-Minute Chanukah Gifts
(for people you forgot to add to your list)
The beauty of Chanukah goes beyond the legends, miracles, and Maccabees. Most important of all is that with eight days to celebrate, you can always buy a gift and pretend you were thoughtful all along.
Here are a few suggestions for Chanukah gifts for people-you-didn’t-plan-on-buying-gifts-for-but-then-they-bought-something-for-you-so-now-you-have-to-reciprocate.
Sufganiyot for your pup. BARK, the folks behind BarkBox, and Dunkin’ recently launched limited-edition Dunkin’-inspired dog toys including some yummy looking donuts (our fluffy friend Ollie the therapy dog loved the Munchkin donut hole toys best). The collection supports the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, which among other things works to bring service dogs to children’s hospitals. Find them at Dunkin’s stores.
A sweater for your soft drink. If your mom always tells you to wear a sweater, you should probably get her one as well. In this case, it’s the cute puffy jacket from Puffin Drinkwear that will keep her seltzer extra cold.
An actual kumzits. It’s not like Cliff House in Maine spends
muchany time on Hanukkah decor, but the year round beauty of the location makes it worth a visit. We’ve been there before and love the outdoor fire pit area and think it would make the perfect spot for a kumzits. Meanwhile, if holiday decor is your thing, they’re big on sustainability and use natural elements native to coastal Maine while also upcycling past decorations.Stylish matches. For the person who seems to have a hard time finding the perfect match, Skeem makes gorgeous handblown glass containers for matches. Check out the Indigo handblown glass Match Cloche with 120 matches, cork stopper and strike-on-bottle flint—designed to be repurposed.
A star of David necklace. There’s never been a better time to proudly wear your faith. Ross-Simons has a nice collection of Magen David jewelry including this beautiful 14k gold star.
Story Time Chess uses silly stories and characters to teach kids how to play chess. This is a very useful skill for parents who brag about what their kids can do even if their kids can’t actually do these things. We also kinda love the fact that each piece comes from Chesslandia. On Amazon or StoryTimeChess.com
Happy Hanukkah Treat Tray. We already love Nuts.com, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to love their cute Hanukkah gift set with everything from cookies to candy-coated almonds. One thing to keep in mind, not all products are kosher and one contained gelatin. On Nuts.com.
A few more things to catch up on:
Cartoonists Roz Chast and Emily Flake took readers on a visual culinary tour of Midwood, Brooklyn. (New Yorker)
Antisemitism isn’t new. So why did 2022 feel different? “The violence has eroded the sense of security American Jews have long experienced” (Vox)
Love Christmas lights? They were invented by a Sephardic Jew. (Washington Post)
Light will always prevail. Biden mentions Hanukkah (even if Zelensky forgot to). (JTA)
The best Jewish-themed Saturday Night Live sketches ranked. We’re slightly squeamish to mention this one, since SNL has a not-so-great reputation lately about letting antisemitic rhetoric pass as humor. (Uproxx).
And finally Six13’s latest offering is Elton Johnukah
Happy Chanukah, from your friends at The Kumzits
P.S. Send us your tips, ideas and feedback to thekumzits@gmail.com