Alef: The NEXT Conversation

Waiting for Adam Sandler

By Julie Naturman

As Chanukah comes to an end, it makes me think about what I used to do as a kid with my family.  I admit it – I’m definitely guilty of getting way too excited about Chanukah.  Growing up, the highlight of the holiday season for me was when the radio stations started playing Adam Sandler’s Chanukah Song.  I got so excited and if I was fast enough, I would record it on a cassette tape (remember those?).  I would play that song over and over again until my parents practically begged me to find something else to do.

You see, The Chanukah Song was much more to me than just a fun song to sing along to on the radio (or on my cassette tape, for that matter).  With each version that came out, Adam Sandler listed celebrities that were Jewish and celebrated Chanukah just like I did.  As a kid, I loved hearing about all of them;  I would take pride in bragging to all my non-Jewish friends about how many awesome famous Jews there were.  Honestly, I think I wanted my friends to be jealous of me for celebrating Chanukah instead of have the Jewish kids be jealous of them for celebrating Christmas.

Adam Sandler has always been my favorite (which, of course, was why I loved the song so much).  In most of his movies, he plays a Jewish character—the name Sunny Koufax, in Big Daddy, bears a strong resemblance to that of Jewish baseball player, Sandy Koufax.  Sometimes the Judaism is even more overt–who could forget the scene in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry when he insists that a yarmulke be worn for the wedding, so as not to disappoint his mother.  Always so proud to be Jewish, Adam Sandler is an amazing Jewish role model.

It has been quite a few years since the third version of Adam Sandler’s Chanukah Song came out, and I am dying for a new one.  Come on Adam – give us Jews what we need!  I will anxiously await every Chanukah season for number four.

Photo by Ihdren, licensed under Creative Commons.

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