A brother from Israel came to visit me in New York with his family. My mom decided to show my kids how they celebrate Christmas in America. We already have a tradition of visiting the city center and looking at the vitrines, which these days are a fairy winter country, where the moving, as alive, figures of Christmas heroes live. His brother, the rabbi, was worried about how his five-year-old son would react to the Christmas overload. He tried to explain to the child that we Jews do not celebrate Christmas.
“This is a great feast,” he said, “but not Jewish.
Christian religious celebration. The Jews do not have a celebration.
Christmas, we have a Hanukkah holiday, which is celebrated approximately in the
The same time. The brother imagined that the child could touch the tree.
The light bulbs in the shopping center, worried his thought of Santa Claus.
All the kids in the store are waiting for a fat man in a red suit.
He predicted it. They will come to him and tell him about their own.
Wishes and gifts that you would like to receive
to him. Santa Claus is like a fairy tale character, but he is a Christmas character.
The character. We can watch him, but we should not take from him.
The Gifts.
Where does he still live? In the store or in the book? I was interested
The boy.
- He moves around the circle, followed the answer.
The brother did not take into account the fact that we both, he and I, have photographs of us, when we were children, captured together with Santa.
by Klaus. Long before becoming a rabbi, he even participated in a lush Christmas show in the kindergarten.
So, my little nephew was very well "picked". Going to the central shops, he knew firmly that Santa Claus was not for him.
Of course, the children were there in a long line to sit on their knees at Santa Claus. Our boy, and not thinking of becoming in this turn, could not resist the desire to at least watch what was happening.
As if slippery, he took a step by step and unnoticedly approached other children, with no intention, however, of joining them. but
Santa Claus turned his attention to a lonely child moving along the stream in the store. Per he noticed the desire in his eyes and,, looked at the statue on his head. Soon he shrugged his hand and asked:
Why are you not in line, baby? You don’t want to sit on your knees.
The Santa Claus?
“We are Jews,” the boy explained.
I see.
The nephew came closer and continued:
We are not celebrating Christmas. We have Hanuka. It is not the same, but
approximately at the same time.
Where are you from? I asked Santa Claus.
From Israel.
Santa Claus spoke in Hebrew. It turned out that he recently returned from Jerusalem, where he studied in Yeshiva for two years. Of course, the young man’s teachers’t be delighted with his costume and classes, but he needed the money very much, and it was the only job he, the fat man, managed to get. And also fun.
I don't know what other children thought of a boy who, at the invitation of Santa Claus himself, broke the line and spoke to him in an unknown language for fifteen minutes. On his way home, he was very excited and rushed to meet his father.
From the threshold he shouted:
and Dad! and Dad! You can no longer worry! Santa Claus is a Jew!! to