“A Minor American Miracle”: Orrin Hatch’s Rockin’ Hanukkah Song
Trent Gilliss, online editor
A quick scan of this morning’s edition of the Tablet Daily Digest e-mail prompted me to read the lead article, “Hanukkah: A Guide for the Perplexed,” which was fun and quite helpful. And then I moved on.
It wasn’t until I was checking my inbox this afternoon that I saw what should have been at the top of the page: a video by songwriter and senior senator from Utah, Orrin Hatch. How the song came into being is actually a rather heart-warming story, as Jeffrey Goldberg tells it. I had no idea the Sen. Hatch liked to write spirituals.
But, it is a wonderful testament to the spirit of the season that such things can happen so freely and spread a little joy during an afternoon at work. Also, the idea that an Arab singer backed by the vocals of a the Jewish magazine staff sings a song written by a Mormon politician who “possesses a heartfelt desire to reach out to Jews” gives one hope that year-end holidays can bring out the best in people — and a will to understand one’s own traditions and the rituals of others:
“I know a lot of Jewish people that don’t know what Hanukkah means,” he [Hatch] said. Jewish people, he said, should “take a look at it and realize the miracle that’s being commemorated here. It’s more than a miracle; it’s the solidification of the Jewish people.”
And, yes, I do consider this another one of my Friday “video snacks.” *grin*
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trentgilliss reblogged this from beingblog and added:
itself isn’t too bad, but...even better! From my SOF Observed post:
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