6 | DECEMBER 2 • 2021 

1942 - 2021

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week

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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 
FOUNDATION
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MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish 
News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish 
people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel.

VISION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will operate to appeal to the broadest segments of the greater 
Detroit Jewish community, reflecting the diverse views and interests of the Jewish community while advancing the 
morale and spirit of the community and advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
32255 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 205,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
248-354-6060
thejewishnews.com

 
 
Publisher
The Detroit Jewish 
News Foundation

| Board of Directors:
 Chair: Gary Torgow
 Vice President: David Kramer 
 Secretary: Robin Axelrod
 Treasurer: Max Berlin
 Board members: Larry Jackier, 
 Jeffrey Schlussel, Mark Zausmer
 
 
 Senior Advisor to the Board: 
 Mark Davidoff
 Alene and Graham Landau Archivist Chair: 
 Mike Smith
 Founding President & Publisher Emeritus: 
 Arthur Horwitz
 Founding Publisher 
 Philip Slomovitz, of blessed memory

 
 
 

| Editorial 
 DIrector of Editorial: 
 Jackie Headapohl
jheadapohl@thejewishnews.com
Associate Editor: 
David Sachs
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Social Media and Digital Producer:
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Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz 
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Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello
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Contributing Writers:
Nate Bloom, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne 
Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Shari S. 
Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Louis 
Finkelman, Stacy Gittleman, Esther 
Allweiss Ingber, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer 
Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, 
Robin Schwartz, Mike Smith, Steve Stein, 
Julie Smith Yolles, Ashley Zlatopolsky

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| Business Office
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PURELY COMMENTARY

essay
The Most Chanukah 
Time of the Year …
Making Peace with 
Christmas
M

y first recollection of 
feeling uncomfort-
able about Christmas 
occurred in music class in the 
fourth or fifth grade. We were 
singing “songs of the season,
” 
and I started to think about 
what I was actu-
ally singing: “Joy 
to the world, the 
Lord is come!” It’s 
a beautiful melo-
dy about the birth 
of Jesus. Another 
song ends with 
the phrase: “Oh 
come let us adore him, Chri-ist, 
the Lord.
”
I’m sure we had sung 

the same songs previous 
Decembers, but it somehow felt 
different this time. So, I decid-
ed I just wasn’t going to sing 
those words. I didn’t discuss it 
with my teacher or parents or 
classmates. I just made sure that 
I substituted (in a soft voice) 
“You know who, NOT the 
Lord!” There … that showed 
’
em where I stood! 
I recall my mom taking my 
siblings and me downtown 
to Hudson’s for a visit with 
Santa, but I’m not sure how she 
explained it to us or whether 
it felt weird. I think my mom 
had a strong wish to break away 
from the “Dexter Davidson 

shtetl” of her extended fam-
ily and push our little family 
toward assimilation with main-
stream American culture. I still 
went to Hebrew school and 
learned all the Chanukah songs 
and always knew that we didn’t 
celebrate Christmas. But why 
we went to see Santa, I’m just 
not sure. I quickly learned that 
while Santa Claus was coming 
to town, he wouldn’t be coming 
down our chimney.

We always sang our 
Chanukah songs after lighting 
candles. I recall we also watched 
endless Christmas specials with 
Perry Como or Dean Martin 
(or maybe even Jack Benny), 
but I don’t recall a lot of discus-
sion about us not celebrating 
Christmas. Our neighborhood 
was fairly diverse in terms 
of religion, and I don’t recall 
feeling left out at the holiday 
season. We had Chanukah; they 

Dr. Jeff 
London

