Why is that man lighting a menorah in early Kislev? And, for that matter, why is he lighting all 8 candles?
Well, it seem president Forty Percent has yet another vacation planned for the end of the month, a vacation that interferes with his stacked schedule of holiday pandering. So rather than light the menorah on Chanuka from his vacation spot, when it would you know, make sense, he decided to celebrate Chanuka a few weeks ahead of time. I understand that the Chief Rabbi of Israel plans to retaliate by waiting until July to open his Christmas presents.
My feelings about this particular dog and pony show are mixed. As usual the president's remarks were vapid. As usual, he displayed a complete lack of understanding of Judaism in general and the Macabees in particular (Earth to pandering presidents: The Macabees weren't all that interested in religous liberty.)
However, I must admit that it warms my heart to see the leader of the free world with a shamash in his hand, but I also can't deny that it makes a mockery of the observance to do it two weeks early. It's just not Jewish to play fast and loose with the dates. If its important to pretend to celebrate Chanuka, you might as well do your pretending at the proper time.
