Happy Hanukkah!

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Dec 9, 2006

This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 15. Happy Hanukkah! Good Yontif! Hopefully you'll be through with your exams and ready to celebrate. If you're looking for a few last minute gifts for college students, here are some helpful links:

• Holiday gift ideas for students.
• Unique holiday gifts for students.
• Cheap holiday gift ideas for roommates and college friends.

As Hanukkah approaches, a sad and scary event occurred on the campus of Colorado State University. Two freshman students had chosen to display Mezuzot on their dorm room doors, and those Mezuzot were ripped off of their doors and stolen. Here's an article about the incidents in the Rocky Mountain Collegian, which is well-written (with the exception of referring to a mezuzah as a decoration, which is inaccurate). For those of you not familiar with Mezuzot (the plural of Mezuzah), they are small rectangular boxes that contain a prayer scroll. Jews hang them outside of their doors. They are a religious symbol (as opposed to a decoration, such as a cardboard dreydel that a student might hang on a dorm room door), so ripping one down is akin to ripping down someone's crucifix. They also have come to be a symbol of a Jewish home, which Jews hang proudly as a symbol of their identity. Because of that, ripping one down is an act of anti-Semitism.

My heart skipped a beat when I picked up the Rocky Mountain Collegian on the way to class that featured that story on the front page. I have a Mezuzah on my door, and I'm sick of having symbols of my identity mocked and desecrated. But we're a tough people. Try as we might, no one's been able to put out our burning oil, and a couple of Colorado State University dorm punks aren't going to either.

So, Happy Hanukkah, students! I have to go finish buying eight presents for my toddler, who's just learned how to say "Jewish."