Quote:
Originally Posted by lake
I used to work with this wonderful Jewish woman, and I remember her saying something about Hannukah not being a big deal like the high holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. She said the only reason it gets as much attention as it does is because it is close to Christmas, and the PC crowd wants to appear as inclusive as possible this time of year. Can someone clarify this? Is it true?
Off topic: The Jewish faith really speaks to me on a very deep level. At one time I considered converting (I'm Roman Catholic!), and it had a lot to do with this Jewish lady I worked with sharing her faith with me. I even spoke to a rabbi, and while he was very welcoming, he told me it would be very difficult to convert because of where I was living at the time (a very rural area with a very small Jewish community). The closest city where I could receive instruction was hours away from me. The rabbi said so much of Judaism is about family, and I wouldn't be able to fully experience that without Jewish family members, or unless I lived in a larger city with a larger Jewish community I could affiliate with.
When I tell people I once seriously considered converting, they look at me like I'm nuts!  |
For the first half, Yes to the first, No for the second.
For the first Hanukkah is definitely behind the "High Holidays" (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) and Passover, pretty definitely behind Shavuot and Sukkot and more or less even up with Simchat Torah, Purim and Tu Bishvat.
For the second, *much* less to do with Political Correctness and more to do with the last 50 years of Christmas Toy Commercials and begging Jewish Kids.
And it's been much less of a somber holiday than a lot of others, so upgrading it to gift/toy giving holiday is considerably easier than Tish B'Av (which commemerates the destruction of the first and second temples)
I can see where the Rabbi is coming from. On the balance I might not agree with him, but still it makes sense.