Premiered December 6, 1996.
Chanukah has arrived and Tommy Pickles (Elizabeth Daily), his cousin Angelica (Cheryl Chase) and their friends are a bit confused about what's happening. Tommy's family lights candles and he gets a present every night for several days and he wonders if every night is his birthday.
Their grandfather Boris Kropotkin (Michael Bell) is appearing in the local synagogue's play, which is titled "The Meaning Of Chanukah." Boris is playing Judah Maccabee, the hero of the Chanukah story. King Antiochus, the villain of Chanukah, will be played by Boris's longtime rival Shlomo (Fyvush Finkel). Boris and Shlomo have known each other since their childhood in Russia and Boris feels Shlomo lords his successful business over him.
of the miracle of the oil associated with
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| Tommy and Angelica's grandparents eat latkes, which symbolize Chanukah's miracle of the oil. |
When Tommy and friends see Shlomo's photo next to the phrase "Meaning Of Chanukah," they become confused and believe Shlomo is "the meanie of Chanukah!" This makes them worry for Boris' safety.
Angelica doesn't want to attend the play, because it will cause her to miss A Very Cynthia Christmas, her favorite holiday special, which airs at the same time as the pageant. Her Aunt Didi (Melanie Chartoff) insists she attend the play, but Angelica conspires to find a way to watch the Cynthia special.
Didi's husband Stu (Jack Riley) is not Jewish, but he wants to show respect for the Kropotkin family's Chanukah traditions. With this in mind, he builds a giant light-up Menorah and plans to show it off at the Chanukah play.
When the family arrives at the synagogue, Boris and Shlomo immediately start arguing. The play gets more complicated when another cast member named Lowell Armstein (Alan Rachins) arrives.
Lowell thought he'd be playing King Antiochus, but the Rabbi (Ron Liebman) tells Lowell he will be playing "the Village Kvetch." This frustrates Lowell, since he planned to perform a monologue and brought along music to accompany him.
Angelica sneaks away to search for a TV, so she can the Christmas special. She's thwarted when an adult finds her and deposits her in the synagogue's nursery with Tommy and the other kids.
Will the Rugrats learn the Meaning Of Chanukah? Will the feud between Shlomo and Boris ruin the Chanukah play?
J.A. Morris says:
Let me state up front that I've been aware of Rugrats since their inception, but I haven't watched many episodes from beginning to end. But I've always liked what I've seen of the show. "Chanukah" is fun holiday episode that provides a nice introduction to Chanukah and the traditions related to the occasion.
I appreciated the resolution to Boris and Shlomo's conflict. Boris was jealous of Shlomo's successful business. We learn that Shlomo was jealous of Boris' family, because he and his wife never had the time to be "blessed with children." Since his wife is now deceased, Shlomo wonders if there's a point to traditions if your loved ones are no longer around. I won't spoil the ending, but since this is an episode of a Nickelodeon series, it won't be shocking to learn that "a Chanukah miracle" occurs.
Angelica would rather stay home and watch a Christmas special instead of going to the Chanukah play. On a (possibly) related note, when Stu is driving to the synagogue (with the giant Menorah on top of his car!) he winds up getting stuck in a Christmas parade!
I believe these are references to the fact that during the holiday season, many people forget that other traditions exist and that not everyone celebrates Christmas. I would hope "Chanukah" taught younger viewers of Rugrats to understand this and to respect other peoples' beliefs.
On a lighter note, Lowell Armstein adds some humor to the episode.
I'm glad this episode exists, if for no other reason than because the world could use for more episodes/specials/movies that focus on occasions that aren't Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. This episode also makes me want to watch more episodes of Rugrats, and not just their many holiday episodes!
"Chanukah" is funny, touching and educational. It's a great introduction to Chanukah and it gets my highest rating.
J.A. Morris' rating:
4 dreidels!
RigbyMel says:
I've enjoyed watching assorted episodes of Rugrats over the years, but the Chanukah episode was new to me.
This episode does a good job of telling the story of Chanukah through the eyes of babes. In point of fact, it actually tells the basics of the Chanukah pretty well for adults too.
I like the way we see the babies imagining themselves in the telling of the story -- including Tommy's great line "A maccababy's gotta do what a maccababy's gotta do" (which plays on the name of Judah Maccabee -- the hero of the original Chanukah story).
I also like the pop up Old Testament stories we see when the babies imagine reading the Torah in secret while Grandma reads the story.
One of the appeals of Rugrats for me has always been the wordplay based in childlike (mis)understanding of language. For example, the babies decide that Shlomo is the "meanie of Chanukah" and determine that he should take a nap rather than bully Grandpa Boris. The "meanie of Chanukah" bit is also great in that it plays on the whole "meaning of Christmas" schtick of many a holiday special.
Speaking of holiday specials, bratty Angelica's plan to use the babies' mission to protect Grandpa Boris as a means to watching her Cynthia Christmas program is humorous.
Moreover, in terms of wordplay, Angelica's explanation that Chhhhh-anukah (with extra phlegm) takes place between "Misgiving and Christmas" is delightful and a really good illustration of how this Jewish celebration tends to get lumped in with the other traditions floating around in the ether this time of year.
RigbyMel's rating:
4 dreidels!
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