December 4, 2010, - 7:15 pm

GREAT Chanukah Video From the Maccabeats

By Debbie Schlussel

Even if you are not Jewish, I think you will enjoy this Chanukah video, featuring a group of guy singers from Yeshiva University in New York, who call themselves “The Maccabeats.”  It tells the Chanukah story with great singing done to the tune of a recent pop hit.  It’s already had over a million views on YouTube. I’ll interpret the two Hebrew parts for you. “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham” means “A Great Miracle Happened There”–something we say on Chanukah (in Israel, they say, “Nes Gadol Hayah Poh,” or “A Great Mirace Happened Here”). “Ma’oz Tzur,” means “Rock of Ages,” a song about G-d being our eternal salvation and savior against the enemies of the Jewish people, which we sing after lighting the Chanukah candles each night of Chanukah.

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19 Responses

Love it!

D on December 4, 2010 at 7:41 pm

Thanks Debbie.

Kevin Cullis on December 4, 2010 at 8:35 pm

Excellent!

NormanF on December 4, 2010 at 10:11 pm

Great song and video, Debbie. Thank you.

JeffE on December 4, 2010 at 10:37 pm

We loved it!

jocelyn, david and julia on December 5, 2010 at 12:00 am

Miss Schlussel, Et Alii:

I copied the phrase, “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham”, and posted it on my FACEBOOK profile, which automatically posted it on my web site, OUR ETERNAL STRUGGLE.

Todah and Shalom!

John Robert Mallernee
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Gulfport, Mississippi 39507

John Robert Mallernee on December 5, 2010 at 5:51 am

Loved it! Puts a smile on my face.

michiganmom on December 5, 2010 at 7:54 am

Love this! Posted on FB. Even though I am not Jewish I think we will start to incoporate Chanukah with our Christmas.

mominwisconsin on December 5, 2010 at 8:55 am

I suppose you have to be an American Jew to be amused by this shallow nickel and dime junk music. And frankly, if I was a Greek – even a Greek Jew – I’d be terribly offended by these insulated Jews gleefully parading an imagined superiority in such obnoxious fashion.

Arn on December 5, 2010 at 9:14 am

    Don’t worry. There are not that many Greek JEws. The Greeks actively collaborated with the Nazis during WWII to send them to the death camps.

    grath green on December 5, 2010 at 11:56 pm

      To Grath Green,

      I don’t want to be insulting but your words are absolutely shameful. If I spoke of “insulated” Jews that certainly applies to you. I suggest you read only a few of the 410 pages of the Kastaniotis Editions “Documents on the History of the Greek Jews”, or visit the silent 6 language marble monument (including Yiddish and Hebrew) to the holocaust victims of Rhodes and Kos on the Island of Rhodes, or study the editions at Yad VaShem where devout Greek Orthodox kept a careful record of all the Jews shipped to the death camps, listing all their family members, their addresses, their properties, and listing the names of the very few that survived. And so what if there are not that many Jews living in Greece today? How does that matter? One publication that I have seen was the work of one Iakovos Iaonnidas who had it published in Rhodesia. There are still Greeks alive today who refuse to forget.

      Arn on December 6, 2010 at 2:04 am

That is a great video and song. I’m sure it sends the modern oppressors of Israel, the Muslims, into a rage.

The solution to the Muslim onslaught: Whether you are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, etc, practice and be proud of your religion! And fight back against evil, i.e. Islam, by standing up for our heritage.

JM on December 5, 2010 at 9:31 am

What happened to the Friday movie reviews?

G: There were no new movies, this past Friday. Lots this coming Friday. Stay tuned. DS

Gav on December 5, 2010 at 9:43 pm

This Hanukkah was marked by sad news: Haifa Police Chief Ahuva Torner died of her injuries today. In going into harm’s way and saving the lives of others, she exemplified the very ideals of public service and showed that Israel’s greatest resource is its people. Whatever criticisms can be made of Israel’s preparedness for the fire, its response to it was extraordinary. Torner and the hundreds of firefighters who fought against impossible odds showed us how Israelis rise to the challenge during a time of crisis. Israel lost a brave soul today. But the lesson of her life is a light for this and other Hanukkahs to follow. May her memory for a blessing!

NormanF on December 6, 2010 at 8:20 am

I’m Christian and I love it because – they are talented! Everything about this is so well done. I like this better than the original song.

Jake on December 6, 2010 at 9:12 am

If you enjoyed this video/ the Maccabeats, you should definitely check out I Light It by NCSY, a hilarious Chanukah-themed parody of Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Enrique Iglesias. Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvY337zKttA

Chana on December 6, 2010 at 11:14 am

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
These guys are great.

Mike on December 6, 2010 at 5:56 pm

I’ve been looking for some Klezmer Hanukkah music without success. Have you run across any?

BoKnows on December 6, 2010 at 7:32 pm

I just watched the video again and it is SO heart-warming. Those kids are incredibly talented.

There was an interview with one of them on the Malcolm Segal radio show last night (620 AM). He said that the name of the group – the Maccabeats – was a complete coincidence having nothing to done with the holiday of Chanukkah. Anyway, it is quite appropriate at this time of year.

WOW … 2 million hits on Youtube, and I just want to watch this video again and again. May G-d bless these students and all their endeavors.

They are SOOOOO cool!

Mike on December 9, 2010 at 5:00 pm

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