I missed the beginning of Hanukkah yet again.
My connection to Judaism is rather on the light side, as it is through my paternal line and Jewish ethnicity runs through maternal lines (as far as Jews define such). so I suppose I simply have a Jewish heritage. I could always blame my Kohen forefathers for marrying gentile girls, but what can be done at this point - things are as they are...
My oldest daughter has really been into her Jewish heritage when she was younger. She even got reasonably conversant in Hebrew and, thanks to the Internet, had a chance to use her ability!
My mother (you know, "the gentile") is so nice about bringing up my father's family background, even after being divorced for about thirty years and she brought over a paper menorah as part of a lesson she was giving for Family Home Evening. The interesting part was that I was searching on the 'net for LED menorahs just before she started her lesson! Coincidence? I think not! The paper one is up in the window for the world to see, but I hope to get a much better electric version for next year.
I found some really neat kits for LED menorahs from EvilMadScience.com. The first is a "deluxe" version that looks a bit tacky to me, but I really like the minimalism of their LED Mini Menorah Soldering Kit, as it is a bit more difficult to make, looks more techy, and shakes out the casual sorts.
Anyway, have a Happy Hanukkah from one of those totally un-Jewish Kohens!
