Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah for those of the Jewish faith. It is a joyous time. An intimate group of 90 people gathered together to light the first candle and share dinner.
It's strange-but while 90 is hardly an intimate group we all wandered from table to table in our club house enjoying each other's company. Assigned seating was random so we got to meet our neighbors. Where I live we get together to celebrate every thing we can. I found myself spotting those with AD perhaps before their spouses do.
I know what you mean Nora...I find myself checking the eyes and sparkle of middle-aged (and on up) people all the time whether I know them or not, and making a quick assessment of their mental status.
I'd never understood why they were called Maccabee's. I always suspected the english translator was Scottish and took liberties. Part of it is of course that biblical names from the old testament which was adopted by the christians in whole from the jewish people, have come down to us. So Simon Maccabee sounds Scottish to those not familiar but Simon is a jewish name and Makkaba is probably Aramaic in origin.
The 'Maccabees' initiated the revolt against the forbidding of religious practise some time around the 2nd century BC and Hanukkah celebrates the defense of yet another persecution of the jewish people.
A little known fact in the holocaust is that Hitler went to public school with Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein went on to become one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century and Hitler was turned down twice when he applied to the Vienna School of Art. Young Hitler hated Wittgenstein who was probably brighter than anyone else in the school. In his ramble Mein Kampf, Hitler repeatedly refers to 'that jew' (pardon me) and while this is not discussed sufficiently in my view, I am convinced it refers to Wittgenstein his old public school nemesis.
Jewish people have been generous to me all my life. My second job was given to me by Albert Reichmann who was one of the brothers that built up the Olympia business empire that went on to build the Canary Wharf projects that revitalized the city of London. It was an orthodox company that closed fridays in time for everyone to be home before the sun set. Even their youngish finance guy Wolfgang Krause.