Chanukkah Everywhere!

A bonus blog! I don’t think I’ve ever done two days in a row before. It sort of figures that it would happen in the middle of final papers and exams.

A few observations from this morning’s shuk trip. Chanukkah is everywhere! Every bakery had piles of sufganiyot, jelly donuts, displayed this morning. A week from now, and for another 50 weeks or so, you would be hard-pressed to find any kind of donut in Israel. This week, they’re hard to avoid. The various stores that sell assorted Judaic items and housewares usually have piles of kippot in the front of their booths, or at least that’s what I usually notice. Today, they were all Chanukkah. They were selling menorahs of all kinds, a whole range of candles, and lots of different dreidels. I’m sure I’ll be back there during the holiday to get myself a few Israeli dreidels, with the Pei, for “A Great Miracle Happened Here (Poh)” instead of the American “A Great Miracle Happened There” (Sham, with a Shin). What fun!

I also noticed some extra-special menorahs. They sell oil menorahs in Israel! I know they sell them in the states also, but only from a few places (as in, a few wholesalers. I guess I would know that. Thanks Mom!). I’m sure most people have never seen an oil menorah. Actually, I’ve never seen one lit. But at the shuk today, mixed in with the tables full of menorahs, were oil menorahs of all designs, and probably, of all prices. Mixed in with the piles and displays of candles were packages of wicks for oil. I was caught off-guard by it all! As someone a little afraid of fire, I won’t be lighting one of those, but the idea of it is so much cooler than the regular menorahs.

Even the supermarkets are full of Chanukkah. I’m sure the ones at home now are all decorated for Christmas, with special Christmas packaging on everything. (I saw a small Christmas display yesterday! The first one! Then I realized it was a Russian store. Of course. Then I moved on.) The supermarket here is selling cheap menorahs, a few kinds of candles, and lots of Chanukkah candy. I bet you didn’t know there was Chanukkah candy! There is gelt, of course. But in addition, there is the equivalent of all the different candy canes of candy, trees of candy, Christmas-dressed stuffed animals holding bags of candy… It’s all here, but for Chanukkah!

Yes, I’m easily entertained.

I saw one other thing today on my way home from the shuk that made me laugh really hard. It was a poster advertising some sort of lecture: adapting to life in the 20^th Century. Um…remember the year 2000? The debate about whether the 21^st century really started in 2000 or 2001? (Well, maybe that one was only in my house.) In any case, Israel being a century behind the rest of the world explains a lot.

I ordered my airport shuttle this afternoon (to pick me up and take me to the airport tomorrow afternoon!). I did it all in Hebrew, and the person on the end was responding in Hebrew! I suppose I shouldn’t get excited about this until it really shows up when I think it will. Shuttles don’t run very often on Shabbat. I’ll be sitting at the airport (homework in lap, probably being ignored in favor of stellar people-watching) for quite a while. But what do you expect out of the 20^th century?!

Shabbat shalom, happy Chanukkah, and goodnight!