6 | DECEMBER 2 • 2021 1942 - 2021 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 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 dsachs@thejewishnews.com Social Media and Digital Producer: Nathan Vicar nvicar@thejewishnews.com Staff Reporter: Danny Schwartz dschwartz@thejewishnews.com Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@thejewishnews.com 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 | Advertising Sales Director of Advertising: Keith Farber kfarber@thejewishnews.com Senior Account Executive: Kathy Harvey-Mitton kmitton@thejewishnews.com | Business Office Director of Operations: Amy Gill agill@thejewishnews.com Operations Manager: Andrea Gusho agusho@thejewishnews.com Operations Assistant: Ashlee Szabo Circulation: Danielle Smith Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner | Production By Farago & Associates Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Kelly Kosek, Kaitlyn Schoen, Deborah Schultz, Michelle Sheridan 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