CNN: Matisyahu, a Hasidic reggae and hip-hop artist, just released "Miracle," his contribution to the dearth of Hanukkah song options. In an essay he wrote this week for NPR, he said:

Jewish musicians might feel more inclined to make Hanukkah music if they knew that someone would actually want to listen to it. Until the holiday music market shows it can support Hanukkah songs, it's highly unlikely that we will ever hear Jewish holiday music at the mall, or a gas station, or the DMV, or on every radio station that Santa currently rules.

Now, making its viral video and international debut, we have the Maccabeats.

Out of New York's Yeshiva University, this 14-member a cappella group introduced just this week, "Candlelight," a music video that parodies Taio Cruz's "Dynamite," and specifically Mike Tompkins' rendition of the song.

The song educates listeners about the story of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, an eight-day holiday which started Wednesday night. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt and the menorah (candelabrum) that stayed aglow for eight days, despite a lack of oil.

But the song's chorus also invokes some of the symbols and customs associated with the holiday, including the traditional potato pancake (latke) Jews eat during Hanukkah and that spinning top, the dreidel - again, not made out of clay.

posted by mintbbb 2 years 6 months 2 weeks ago • 2,407 views