We had a chanukah party today at ulpan. Across all the levels, there must be almost 200 students in the program. We all gathered in a little auditorium, where a guy in a Crocodile Dundee hat played a white baby grand piano, accompanied by shrill, cheezy Middle Eastern synthesizer rhythms. A few Arab guys were dancing in a goofy manner, trying to incite the rest of the crowd to join in. Two of the teachers and a small group of Americans were likewise dancing and inciting (or trying to incite). The rest of us sat and watched, maybe clapping. I was standing in the back, smiling at the odd spectacle of it all. Behind me, dozens of oily donuts waited patiently on the table.
The guy started playing the Chabad Mashiach song (a religious song combining Maimondes' 1000-year old proclamation of faith in the coming of the Messiah with the Chabadnik's tune celebrating the crazed notion that the Rebbe (may he rest in peace) IS the Messiah). I looked around at the crowd, 70% of which is young Arabs, and asked the Principal of the Ulpan if Muslims even have a Messiah concept. She understood my subtext. "They don't mind these songs," she said. "They just focus on the music."
I was somewhat skeptical. It must be weird for these Arab kids to be the majority in a program that focuses heavily on Israeli culture. After a few more songs, the principal got on the mic, and started explaining the story of Chanukah. I looked around at this room full of Palestinian youth, and realized that at the Purim party and the Passover party they also get to hear a revered legend of the Jews wiping out their enemy.
I leaned over to the guy next to me. "Having fun?"
"Absolutely."
Hamdul'lah.
1 comment:
i know the muslims have a moshiah, called a Mahdi .. but thinking about it now, i don't understand exactly why they need one.. they haven't exactly been persecuted for their faith, have many of their own homelands and control all of their major holy sites.. not to mention muhammed was just the latest (and clearest) of the many prophets..
you describe a weird circumstance, but i guess there's a lot of subtext in hebrew that makes more sense when you understand more of the background.. ..you wouldn't think it so weird that a bunch of jewish kids experienced "day of the dead" in spanish class in a Jewish school..
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