About 20 years ago, when Six Feet Under ruled the prestige-TV roost, a casual moment unfolded in which the secular Jewish Brenda talked with her mother about her late father’s relationships. The father and his brother did not get along, the mother explained, because one could not forgive the other for “giving up Chanukah.”

Even my younger, less-formed self thought that line was funny, because, while Chanukah is a lovely holiday, it is not so central that its neglect could be a euphemism for assimilation. In fact, Chanukah is the one holiday that even many highly assimilated Jews celebrate.

About 20 years ago, when Six Feet Under ruled the prestige-TV roost, a casual moment unfolded in which the secular Jewish Brenda talked with her mother about her late father’s relationships. The fa

See Full Page