That's what students at suburban Detroit's Hillel Day School are
doing — creating paper-and-paint mashups of menorahs and
turkeys, and the birds combined with dreidels.
The recent
class projects at the Farmington Hills school illustrate one way
U.S. Jews are dealing with a rare quirk of the calendar on
Thursday that overlaps Thanksgiving with the start of Hanukkah.
The last time it happened was 1888 and the next is 79,043 years
from now — by one estimate widely shared in Jewish circles.
The convergence of the secular and sacred holidays is
presenting opportunities for many Jews and challenges for others
— including concerns about everything from extra preparation and
party planning to those who think they will dilute or devalue
both celebrations.
The dilemma is best illustrated by Hillel Day School teacher
Lori Rashty, who recently watched eighth-grade students help
second-graders plant their freshly painted hands onto paper to
make the turkey, then transform the four finger feathers into
candles to incorporate a menorah.
"I think it's a nice way to integrate the two holidays,"
Rashty said. "Since we're not going to see it again for 79,000
years, it's kind of an exciting way for the kids to realize that
it's a special occasion for them."
Still, she added, the double-barreled holiday extracts a
personal toll.
"For me it's a little overwhelming 'cause I don't have time
to get ready for Hanukkah," she said. "I feel like personally it
takes away a little bit from Hanukkah."
The lunisolar nature of the Jewish calendar makes Hanukkah
and other religious observances appear to drift slightly from
year to year when compared to the U.S., or Gregorian, calendar.
Jewish practice calls for the first candle of eight-day Hanukkah
to be lit the night before Thanksgiving Day this year, so
technically "Thanksgivukkah," — or "Thanksgivvukah," as the
Hillel students spell it — falls on the "second candle" night.
Kerry Elgarten, host of an annual Hanukkah party for family
and friends at his apartment in New York City's Bronx borough,
calls the convergence "a conundrum." Because of guests'
Thanksgiving commitments, he's moving the bash to the following
weekend.
"I feel a little bit weird about pushing it off — it was just
too much holiday for one weekend," he said. "Honestly, I will
even cheat on the candles. I'll fill up the whole menorah ...
and just pretend."
In California, Bruce Sandler has no plans to move or modify
the annual Thanksgiving eve party he throws for the staff and
other affiliates of his medical supply business. The party's
kosher offerings typically include a turkey and his wife's
nondairy cornbread. Hanukkah, he said, doesn't call for any
changes.
