HANUKKAH: The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration

This comprehensive guide to Hanukkah, now in its second edition, will be appreciated by countless Jewish families seeking creative and memorable ways to celebrate the holiday. It opens with Wolfson's nostalgic foreword about Hanukkahs past, recounting how the experience of growing up Jewish in Omaha, Nebraska, helped him to articulate and understand his faith—and how he has sought, through the observance of Hanukkah, to pass on that identity to his children. What follows is a fine and resourceful manual about all aspects of the celebration, including recipes, crafts, gifts, games, prayers, decorations and songs. There are even corny Hanukkah jokes ("oil's well that ends well") and whole chapters on food: "If it is a real Jewish event, it involves food," Wolfson tells us. Especially helpful is a section offering parents suggestions to help their children understand the "December Dilemmas" of Hanukkah and Christmas. (Aug.)