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So we’ve had seven nights of Hanukkah videos. We’ve watched singing cowboys, rapping Jewesses, will.i.am impersonators, melodious philosemitism, a comic spilling the beans on George Clooney, Adam Sandler dropping names, and Lipa Schmeltzer doing his thing. But, a viewer might fairly complain, we still don’t have any better sense of what this holiday is all about than when we began. Fair enough.
Fortunately, Rabbi Laura Baum can explain what Hanukkah is all about — and in only three minutes:
The rest of her video series is pretty good, too. Rabbi Baum also examines the Hanukkah blessings, takes a deeper look at the “myth” of the miraculously long-lasting oil, makes some edible Hanukkah art, explains that “real women eat cheese, or at least they feed it to their men before they kill them,” teaches us that there are many ways of lighting Hanukkah candles, and offers a little bit of historical perspective on the Festival of Lights.
Of course, this may raise hackles from those who look to Eight Nights of Yid Vid not for educational content but rather for a little lighthearted diversion. For those who feel this way, I found this video of a woman performing a very nice dreidel dance.
Ain’t no Hanukkah song like a Hanukkah song sung by Hasidic pop giant Lipa Schmeltzer (alas, it’s only a promo, so it gets cut off a little abruptly):
Sure, Lipa may not top the pop charts like Hasidic reggae phenom Matisyahu. But Matisyahu isn’t nearly as much zany fun. (Exhibit A: Check Lipa out promoting the “Big Event” charity concert — which sparked a big brouhaha earlier this year after it was canceled following complaints by rabbis who warned it was liable to cause “ribaldry and lightheadedness.”)
Hat tip: Jewish Music Review
Before “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” there was the “Chanukah Song”:
And here’s his “Chanukah Song,” version 3.0:
It should be noted that, while some maintain that the “Chanukah song” is the “single most important Jewish song of the past quarter-century,” Adam Sandler doesn’t necessarily bring academic precision to his song-writing.
Maybe she can get in touch with this guy, if and when he gets his Christmas wish:
So all you want for Christmas is to be Jewish? No problem, my singing friend. While you wait, I’ll leave you with this to tide you over. You should know, however, that there is a counterargument. (The counter-argument is quite funny but, viewer beware, features some language that should no be repeated on a family blog).
Merry Chrismukkah!
Yes, Chabad of Malibu can light your menorah. Like will.i.am’s pro-Obama video upon which it is based, the Chabad video features a woman saying “Yes we can” in Hebrew. Unlike the will.i.am video, Chabad doesn’t have Jewish/Danish-American actress Scarlett Johansson — or any other women for that matter — singing along. For which, of course, there’s a ready explanation. That, however, begs the question: Did the folks who made or performed in the Chabad video allow themselves to listen to the original?
Hat tip: Jeffrey Goldberg
Be forewarned, it’s a little crude, a little rude, but then again, what would you expect from a hip-hop defense of Hanukkah:
The question is: How do M.C. Jew C and Lil’ Mitzvah stack up against Miriam and Shoshana, the geniuses featured in last year’s second-night Yid Vid?
Last December, the Bintel Blog marked the Festival of Lights and Latkes with eight crazy nights of offbeat Hanukkah-themed videos for your viewing enjoyment. We watched intergalactic, interfaith warfare; dancing Israeli donuts; Aussie punk rockers; manic terrorists; soulful (and not as soulful) holiday songs; NBA stars playing defense, (faux) O.G. hip-hop straight outta Pico-Robertson; and gambling monkeys.
All in all, it’s a tough act to follow if, ahem, I do say so myself. Fortunately, in what one might call a Hanukkah miracle, I happened upon these dreidel-loving kosher cowboys:
Take that, Erran Baron Cohen!
Hat tip: Gruntig.
The video’s maker explains:
So, every year my school holds a door-decorating contest at Christmas time. This year, the plan was to have me make this Christmas vs. Hanukkah space battle animation, and play it on a laptop attached to the door, while also projecting a neat light effect onto some thin paper over the doors window. We won! I thought some people might enjoy seeing it.
The Christmas battleship is modelled [sic] after a Christmas tree, while the Hanukkah ship is a star of David. The fighters are sleds and dreidel.
At the end, it turns a little political.
Israeli machismo died in Ramat Poleg.
For more on Australia’s greatest Jewish punk band, read this and this.
Maybe this guy was right after all.
This one has a touch more soul:
It’s good to know that Hanukkah has the Ron Artest seal of approval. Here’s another video from the same guy from last year:
Below is a video of a much funnier Jewish nudnik pestering NBA stars. Alas, it doesn’t have anything to do with Hanukkah:
O.G. is for Orthodox girls (or faux O.G., as the case may be).
Hat tip: Jewlicious.
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