Though it’s usually known as the festival of lights, latkes, and jelly donuts, Chanukah is also the holiday of musical parodies by Jewish a cappella groups. Every year, these groups compete to create the best Chanukah video of the year. We’ve compiled a list of the top Chanukah videos of 2018. (And if you’re still wondering how to spell the name of this holiday, check out the video from the Union for Reform Judaism below!)
1. Six13
With riffs on *NSYNC’s “It’s Gonna Be Me” and “Tell Me Why” and the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” this throwback video is a Channukah themed tribute to Y2K boy bands.
2. Y-Studs A Cappella
From the group that brought us the La La Land Passover parody, The “Y-Studs” present a more serious take on the usual funny Channukah video this year. Their video, set to Andra Day’s “Rise Up,” addresses rising anti-Semitism on college campuses and ends with a message of Jewish pride.
3. Maccabeats
Chanukah has always been a big holiday for this group, known for “Candlelight,” its hit cover of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.” In honor of its tenth anniversary, the Maccabeats made a retrospective video, complete with fuzzy footage from their first concert at Yeshiva University.
Bonus! How do YOU spell Chanukah?
(Ed’s note: After much deliberation in the Jewish Week newsroom, the editors decided on this spelling above ^. Tell us in the comments, how do you spell it?)
