Skip to main content

Chanukah Rap, Unwrapped


 

I love, love, love words. But - - boy howdy - -  an image will really grab you. Like this one:



Rows of lights shine down. An ovoid shape, rather like a chalice, hovers over the scene, topped by what looks like the candle flames of a menorah. Out of those flames a man in a white suit with a black hat and a microphone is holding forth. Preaching? Singing? 

I don’t know.

Chabad Lubavitch of Howard County presents 

Chanukah On Ice at Color Burst Park

Thursday, December 22nd at 5 pm.

Over at the Chabad Lubavitch of Howard County Facebook page I learn that this year’s Chanukah On Ice will feature rap artist Nissim Black. Ah, so he’s the central figure in the image above. Chanukah rap? I’m going to admit ignorance on that front. Off to Google I go.

Well! Someone has Chabad has been doing their homework. The first entry on the page is their Chanukah event.






 And here’s an article from The Times of Israel online:

Jewish hip-hop royalty take ‘Chanukah song’ to NY streets, Philissa Cramer, November 2021

Yes, that Chanukah Song. The one by Adam Sandler. Only this is an entirely new take. 

Nissim Black and Kosha Dillz are two of the best-known Jewish rappers making music today. Black is a Black American and Hasidic Jew who moved to Israel in 2016, while Dillz is the stage name of Israeli-American rapper Rami Even-Esh.

Take a listen. It’s The Chanukah Song 2.0. 

Black is a convert to Judaism. His conversion story, which begins in Seattle, Washington and brings him to Jerusalem, sounds like a compelling life journey. It also has appeal to the folks at HBO Max who are developing a comedy series based on his life. Honestly, there’s a lot going on here.

Nissim Black is a superstar in the world of Orthodox Jewish Rap. He’s described as a Hasidic hip-hop star. And he’s coming to Columbia, Maryland on December 22nd. Learn more at the event page. Register for tickets here.

I’m a bit confused by their categories for what is billed as a free concert, but, maybe this makes sense to you.


(It does say that the VIP Ticket includes an invitation for two to a VIP Chanukah Dinner and a photo with Nissim Black.)

There’s so much in this story that is new to me. I don’t know very much about how Chanukah is celebrated other than family celebrations at home. I’m unfamiliar with Jewish rap music. And, while I knew that Black people are sometimes Jewish, that’s about all I know. Period.

Most Americans make the assumption that Jewish people are not Black. Clearly that’s not the case.  I’ve realized that my initial reaction to this event had a lot to do with my own assumptions or lack of prior knowledge. The poster which looked rather alien and otherworldly to me may make complete sense to someone else who is able to put all that usual information in context.

Just for fun, here are photos from last year’s Chanukah On Ice. 

Wait, there was one last year, too? There sure is a lot going on in Columbia/HoCo. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: We Are Not Entitled

  A college student went missing. His family and friends were distraught. The community was encouraged to be on the lookout and spread the word.  Days passed.  They must have been agonizing days for those who cared about the missing student. Thoughts that foul play had been involved cannot have been far from their thoughts.  Then, at last, the student was found. Alive. The news was shared with the public.  So. Much. Relief. A family had been reunited with their child. Even though we know that life is complicated, I think it is okay to accept this as a happy ending and leave it at that.  But the world of social media says no. For every expression of joy at the news came questions and even judgement. It became clear to me that some folks felt entitled to an explanation. They wanted the backstory. It’s as though they felt that, by enlisting the help of the public on social media, the authorities now owed them all the details. Television dramas often weave curr...
2 comments
Read more

Separate and Unequal

  Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in  broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not.  It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...
1 comment
Read more