It's here! The 2023 Hanukkah Gift Guide!

Buy your loved ones the gifts they deserve this Hanukkah.

Happy Friday!

Next Thursday begins Hanukkah, or what some incorrectly assume is “the Jewish Christmas.”

This holiday, with a meaningful history of fighting persecution and preserving Jewish tradition (but we’ll get into that next week!), gained cultural prominence in the late 19th century, at a time of large-scale Jewish immigration to the U.S. when many Jewish immigrants embraced American customs in order to fit in. This included ditching their native tongue like Yiddish for English, pursuing higher education and careers, and celebrating secular holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But if you Christmas-ify a Jewish holiday, you kill two elves with one sword, if you catch my violent, metaphorical drift.

And speaking of tradition, last year on The Shabbat Drop I compiled a list of the most ridiculous Hanukkah gifts I could find. Here’s this year’s list!

1. The Banana Menorah

Make sure your loved ones get their extra potassium this holiday season with this $150 menorah. So good it gets its own website. It even comes in stainless steel and travel size! Bonus: Dirty Martini Menorah

2. Curb Your Antisemitism Hoodie

Move over, Anti-Antisemitism Club, hoodie! There’s a new design in town, and it’s prettay, prettaay, prettaaay good.

3. Dill Dough

Alone this holiday season? Don’t get sour! Treat yourself to a Dill Dough. This putty helps you take the edge off and dill with your stress. Slimy and sticky, it fits nicely in the palm of your hand, and smells realistic too! Gherkin’ off with it will make you feel cool as a cucumber. And yes, it even glows in the dark. (It’s a glow-er, not a show-er).

4. Hebrew T-Shirt

A t-shirt with an ancient, wise Hebrew saying from the Talmud. Click on the link above to find out what it means.

5. Summit Ice Apparel

Do you want to sport activewear while supporting Holocaust education? From windbreakers to sweatpants, Jewish Canadian comedian and actor Nathan Fielder’s clothing line can make your dreams come true.

I was reminded of Summit Ice when walking around the Upper West Side the other day and saw a guy wearing a hoodie. It came out years ago, but if you don’t know what it is, Fielder started this nonprofit to combat Holocaust denial when he found out his old windbreaker company paid tribute to a famous denier. But don’t take my word for it!

So Fielder started making his own breakers and donating 100% of the proceeds to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. His website even has facts about the Holocaust and the reminder that six million Jews did die in the Holocaust.

BONUS: Hot Jewish Hanukkah Book

A spin on Hanukkah… and I’m not just talking about dreidels here! Cartoonist Danielle Brody and activist Michael Valdes teamed up to make this fun and humorous guide to all eight nights, complete with recipes, their own gift guide, and a — wait for it — Latke Sutra.

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Win a Shabbat cookbook!

To express my gratitude to my subscribers (and let’s be honest, to help boost readership), I’m doing a giveaway! If you’re already subscribed, you’re automatically entered to win Adeena Sussman’s Shabbat cookbook, with recipes like spicy butternut squash pasta with crispy sage breadcrumbs, and sweet potatoes with miso tahini butter. You get BONUS entries if you get a friend to sign up (let me know their email address!). The winner will be announced next Friday.

Shabbat Shalom.
xx Miranda