you instead of slaying it for you, my lady!” A.J. retorted.
Lisa and Phil laughed.
“Is this going to be a long night?” Lisa asked him.
“Could be,” he agreed. “But I’ve got an idea. Let’s leave these two to talk and go check out the food. Wait’ll you see what my mother’s cooked for us!”
“Food? Did somebody say
food?
” A.J. asked enthusiastically. “Just follow my nose!”
The four of them went into the dining room, where a tantalizing buffet was spread out on the table.
“Mrs. Marston, this is just great!” A.J. declared. “But what are the rest of you going to have?”
Phil snorted. “Even
you
couldn’t eat that much.”
“And nobody’s going to eat yet,” Mrs. Marston said. “First we have to light the Hanukkah candles.”
The dining table had a candelabra on it, but that wasn’t for Hanukkah. The Hanukkah candle holder, or menorah, was standing by itself on the sideboard. It had room for nine candles. Eight of them were the same height. One candle, placed in the center of the menorah, was taller than the rest.
The whole family and their guests gathered around the dining room table. Mrs. Marston spoke. “Tonight, since it’s the first night of Hanukkah, we just have one candle, the one farthest to the right, and the tall one, called the shammash. The festival of Hanukkah celebrates a miracle, recalling a time when the besieged Jewish tribe of the Maccabees had only enough oil to light their temple for one night. But the oil lasted for eight nights, showing us how we can rejoice in strength we have that we didn’t know we had. Each night we light one additional candle, remembering the miracle.”
Then Mrs. Marston recited a prayer in Hebrew. Mr. Marston translated it into English. After that, Rachel struck a match and lit the shammash. She used the shammash to light the first candle, put it back in its place, and stood back.
There was a moment of quiet. Stevie looked at the lovely glow of the menorah and its light as it reflected on all of the Marstons and their guests. Then, as if on cue, the Marstons began singing a Hebrew song. Stevie recognized the tune, but not the words. The tune was the same as a hymn she sometimes heard in church. Thesong the Marstons sang was called “Rock of Ages,” but wasn’t anything like the old Christian hymn of the same name. It was a much brighter and happier song than that one.
“Next stop, the table!” Mrs. Marston announced, showing everybody where to get a plate. She didn’t have to show them where to fill it up. The table was positively overflowing with good things to eat.
“The most traditional Hanukkah food is
latkes.
We eat fried food at Hanukkah, particularly
latkes
, because they are cooked in oil,” Phil said. “At Hanukkah, we call them
latkes.
The rest of the year, they’re known as potato pancakes.”
“But they’re always known as delicious,” A.J. finished, loading his plate with the pancakes.
“Don’t take him too seriously,” Phil said. “Food is A.J.’s favorite subject.”
Lisa thought it would be hard to take anything about A.J. very seriously. He was too funny for that!
They filled up their plates and then took their places at a table Mrs. Marston had set for the four of them near the fireplace.
“There’s something else you should know about Hanukkah,” Phil said as they sat down. He looked a little embarrassed. “It has to do with presents.”
Stevie smiled to herself. She had a feeling she knew what was coming.
“We give gifts on Hanukkah—not big, expensiveones, just little ones,” Phil continued. “Traditionally, it’s something like a child’s top, a dreidel. Anyway, I do have a little present for you, Stevie, but it’s just because you’re my guest. You shouldn’t worry that you don’t have anything for me.” He gave her a small package, wrapped in blue-and-silver paper with little dreidels on it.
“Oh, I’m not worried,” Stevie said. She handed Phil a small package
Lisa and Phil laughed.
“Is this going to be a long night?” Lisa asked him.
“Could be,” he agreed. “But I’ve got an idea. Let’s leave these two to talk and go check out the food. Wait’ll you see what my mother’s cooked for us!”
“Food? Did somebody say
food?
” A.J. asked enthusiastically. “Just follow my nose!”
The four of them went into the dining room, where a tantalizing buffet was spread out on the table.
“Mrs. Marston, this is just great!” A.J. declared. “But what are the rest of you going to have?”
Phil snorted. “Even
you
couldn’t eat that much.”
“And nobody’s going to eat yet,” Mrs. Marston said. “First we have to light the Hanukkah candles.”
The dining table had a candelabra on it, but that wasn’t for Hanukkah. The Hanukkah candle holder, or menorah, was standing by itself on the sideboard. It had room for nine candles. Eight of them were the same height. One candle, placed in the center of the menorah, was taller than the rest.
The whole family and their guests gathered around the dining room table. Mrs. Marston spoke. “Tonight, since it’s the first night of Hanukkah, we just have one candle, the one farthest to the right, and the tall one, called the shammash. The festival of Hanukkah celebrates a miracle, recalling a time when the besieged Jewish tribe of the Maccabees had only enough oil to light their temple for one night. But the oil lasted for eight nights, showing us how we can rejoice in strength we have that we didn’t know we had. Each night we light one additional candle, remembering the miracle.”
Then Mrs. Marston recited a prayer in Hebrew. Mr. Marston translated it into English. After that, Rachel struck a match and lit the shammash. She used the shammash to light the first candle, put it back in its place, and stood back.
There was a moment of quiet. Stevie looked at the lovely glow of the menorah and its light as it reflected on all of the Marstons and their guests. Then, as if on cue, the Marstons began singing a Hebrew song. Stevie recognized the tune, but not the words. The tune was the same as a hymn she sometimes heard in church. Thesong the Marstons sang was called “Rock of Ages,” but wasn’t anything like the old Christian hymn of the same name. It was a much brighter and happier song than that one.
“Next stop, the table!” Mrs. Marston announced, showing everybody where to get a plate. She didn’t have to show them where to fill it up. The table was positively overflowing with good things to eat.
“The most traditional Hanukkah food is
latkes.
We eat fried food at Hanukkah, particularly
latkes
, because they are cooked in oil,” Phil said. “At Hanukkah, we call them
latkes.
The rest of the year, they’re known as potato pancakes.”
“But they’re always known as delicious,” A.J. finished, loading his plate with the pancakes.
“Don’t take him too seriously,” Phil said. “Food is A.J.’s favorite subject.”
Lisa thought it would be hard to take anything about A.J. very seriously. He was too funny for that!
They filled up their plates and then took their places at a table Mrs. Marston had set for the four of them near the fireplace.
“There’s something else you should know about Hanukkah,” Phil said as they sat down. He looked a little embarrassed. “It has to do with presents.”
Stevie smiled to herself. She had a feeling she knew what was coming.
“We give gifts on Hanukkah—not big, expensiveones, just little ones,” Phil continued. “Traditionally, it’s something like a child’s top, a dreidel. Anyway, I do have a little present for you, Stevie, but it’s just because you’re my guest. You shouldn’t worry that you don’t have anything for me.” He gave her a small package, wrapped in blue-and-silver paper with little dreidels on it.
“Oh, I’m not worried,” Stevie said. She handed Phil a small package
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