Tonight is the seventh night of Hanukkah. Only tomorrow night remains and then it’s all over until…when? Hanukkah 2009 begins at sundown on December 11! It’s gonna be great; that means that next year, I’ll be done celebrating Hanukkah just as the last-minute Christmas shoppers are just getting revved up. Confused? Let me explain. While Christmas falls on the same day of the Gregorian calendar each year, Hanukkah is different…on the GREGORIAN calendar. On the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah actually does fall on the very same day annually: the 25th day of the month Kislev. The Hebrew calendar is different from the Gregorian (January-December) calendar. In order to make a long…

I was raised as a Reform (liberal) Jew. Although I am originally from the Chicago area, my family did not live “up on the North Shore”, where the heaviest concentration of Jews in this area is. We lived in the south suburbs, and although we belonged to a thriving temple, I was the only Jewish girl in my public school. I don’t recall being particularly open about my religion as a kid; I didn’t necessarily hide it but I also typically didn’t call attention to it. My parents didn’t start me on Hebrew school in 3rd grade as was typical (for Bat Mitzvah training) and, a couple of moves later…