This week on Unorthodox, it’s beginning to look a lot like Hanukkah! The Festival of Lights starts Sunday, Nov. 28, and we could think of no better way to kick off a holiday about the triumph of Jewish observance over assimilation than with a special episode featuring some amazing Jews whose work celebrates Jewish culture and identity. 

Comedian and proud Jew Judy Gold—aka @jewdygold—joins us to discuss embracing her Jewishness on stage and off, and lighting Hanukkah candles in hotel rooms as she tours the country during the ‘holiday season.’ For more Judy Gold, check out her podcast “Kill Me Now” and her book Yes, I Can Say That, and find her tour schedule at judygold.com. Listen to Judy’s previous appearances on the show here and here. 

Jake Cohen, author of Jew-ish: A Cookbook: Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch, shares his Hanukkah menu (a latke bar!) and tells us why he loves wearing his Star of David necklace on Good Morning America. We’re giving away free copies of Jew-Ish to a few lucky listeners! Check out the giveaway on our Instagram and in our Facebook group. 

Plus we talk #HanukkahFails with Rachel Kenneth and hear new Hanukkah music from Sarah Aroeste and Jeremiah Lockwood.

Tablet’s 100 Most Jewish Foods book has been reimagined as a jigsaw puzzle, memory game, and sticker book, just in time for Hanukkah. Shop the whole set here.

Send us your stories for our Christmas episode at [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at (914) 570-4869. You can also record a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to us.

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