34 | JANUARY 7 • 2021

ROOTS & THE REST OF
THE “CHA-NOOK-AH”
STORY
Finding Your Roots, the PBS
celebrity ancestry series, is
on a “COVID schedule.” It
paused its sixth season in
November. A new episode
premiered on Jan. 5 and
the last season episode pre-
mieres Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 8
p.m. Six more new episodes
(Season 7) will premiere
every following Tuesday
through Feb. 23.
The Jan. 12 episode, titled
Coming to America, is a
“Three I” episode. “Three
I” was a term once used in
New York politics to describe
the perfect, “balanced”
Democratic ticket for most
elections: One Italian, One

Irish person and one “Israel”
(i.e., Jewish). This episode’s
celebs are Speaker of the
House Nancy Pelosi, CBS
anchor Norah O’Donnell and
fashion designer Zac Posen,
40. Posen rose to fame in
the 2000s as the darling
of department stores and
Vogue magazine. His career
has declined, but he is still
a “big name.” The Jan. 26
episode, Against All Odds,
explores the ancestry of
producer and talk show host
Andy Cohen, 52, and NPR
legal correspondent Nina
Totenberg, 76. Nina’s father,
Roman Totenberg, was a
famous Polish-born violinist.
On Dec. 13, the news
went mega-viral that Smokey
Robinson, 80, a Detroit native
and soul music legend, mis-
pronounced “Chanukah” as
“Cha-Nook-Ah.” But there’s a
lot more not widely reported.
The chronology: Jeff

Jacobson’s mother grew
up on the same Detroit
street as Robinson. Jeff, a
Canadian talent agent, hired
Robinson to give his mother
a Chanukah greeting on
Cameo, a video service.
Robinson, like many celebs,
will record a paid greeting
video (he charges $350).
Robinson did the video and
called Chanukah “Cha-Nook-
Ah.”

On Dec. 14, Jacobson
tweeted that Robinson can
pronounce it [Chanukah]
any way he damn pleases.
He is a true legend … He
has already made [this]
Chanukah one of my family’s
most memorable. Also, my
mom says hi.
The same day, Robinson
asked for Jacobson’s mom’s
phone number so he could
call her (a “do-over” he said).
Robinson called Jacobson’s
mother on Dec. 15. He
reached her while she was
teaching a Vancouver kin-
dergarten class. A brief video
snippet of the Detroit natives’
call was recorded and is
posted on Jacobson’s Twitter
page. Jeff’s mother looks
very happy and she’s heard
telling Smokey that she loves
him dearly. See Jacobson’s
tweets and the call video at
https://tinyurl.com/y9mluf5z.

ARTS&LIFE
CELEBRITY JEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

TWITTER

MUSICAL EVENT
5:30 PM, JAN. 7
Kerrytown Concert house
in Ann Arbor will feature
acclaimed pianist Louis
Nagel in this free event. Visit
kerrytownconcerthouse.com.

FAMILY ROOM SERIES
8 PM, JAN. 9
The Ark in Ann Arbor will
present Jill Jack: a free show
featuring folk and rock tradi-
tions. Donations to the virtual

tip jar will support The Ark
and participating artists.

WINTER WELLNESS
10 AM, JAN. 10
Join Rebecca Starr, rebbetzin
and Midwest manager of the
Shalom Hartman Institute,
as she goes on a deep
dive of Shmirat HaGuf, the
Jewish value of physical
well-being. Check cszinfo@
shaareyzedek.org. Winter
wellness program.

PLAY DISCUSSION
2 PM, JAN. 10
The Holocaust Memorial
Center is sponsoring this vir-
tual discussion with author of
The Soap Myth, Jeff Cohen,
and Detroit News film critic
Adam Graham. View the film
on demand at pbs.org/video/
the-soap-mythg-xpfvfu.

STEINWAY SESSIONS
4:15 PM, JAN. 10
The Kerrytown Concert
House in Ann arbor will
present Christopher Harding,
pianist. Visit kerrytowncon-
ceerthouse.com.

ADULT HEBREW CLASS
11:30-NOON, JAN. 11
Beginner students can learn
the Aleph Bet with Temple
Israel in this free event. Visit:
temple-israel.org/event/
hebrew.

JEWISH MILITARY HISTORY
2 PM, JAN. 12
The Jewish Historical Society
will present this virtual

gathering on Zoom. In the
summer of 2015, Louis Miller
was a graduate student
working at the University
of Michigan’s William L.
Clements Library. He discov-
ered an 1805 letter written
by a lieutenant with the
surname Levy, did some dig-
ging and found out that the
letter writer was the second
graduate of the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point.
Miller will also talk about
his experiences process-
ing materials pertinent to
Jewish history from both an
archival perspective and his
own personal background
as an American Jew. Cost:
$10 for members and $18 for
non-members. Register by 9
pm on Jan. 11.

Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial

Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in

advance to calendar@thejewishnews.

com.

Jill Jack

Louis
Nagel

ON THE GO
PEOPLE | PLACES | EVENTS