Christmas is one of the two most important holidays in the Christian world. It has massive visibility and resonance in even the most secular realms of twenty-first century western culture. The observance of Hanukkah, on the other hand, occupies a less privileged position within the Jewish calendar. But it has increased in prominence in modern times because of its proximity to Christmas.

The Jewish world is ambivalent about Christmas. The season is not weighted with painful historical memories such as those associated with Good Friday and Easter, and its tone is cheerful and benevolent. But it is the one time in the year when some Jews sense their cultural otherness.

But Yeshua was also “other,” even as the Jewish people in the midst of the Greco-Syrian empire of the second century BCE was “other.” In that sense, Christmas and Hanukkah both speak of a light that shines brightly in the midst of the darkness, summoning all to be warmed and illuminated by its radiance.

How can we, as Jewish disciples of Yeshua from a variety of backgrounds and traditions, approach these holidays in a way that best reflects our love for Yeshua, our Christian brothers and sisters, and the Jewish people?

Ephraim Radner addresses the history and traditional observance of Christmas and Hanukkah. We also hear from three members of Yachad BeYeshua, all from different communal contexts, who will share what they have learned about observing these holidays as Jewish disciples of Yeshua.