Hanukkah is approaching  — the holiday where we spin dreidels, give gifts and eat latkes and fried donuts until our bellies hurt.

But mostly, Hanukkah is a celebration of Jewish pride. It’s a time to place our brightly lit menorahs in our windows for all to see. And it’s a time that the Jewish people get to decide, for ourselves, what it means to be Jewish and how we want to express that identity.

Hanukkah is also one of the many Jewish holidays that demonstrate the Jewish connection to the land of Israel. The key events of the story take place in Jerusalem, as well as in the territory that is now the West Bank.

Here’s a little known fact: When you play dreidel anywhere in the world other than Israel, you use a dreidel whose letters, נ ג ה ש stand for “A Great Miracle Happened There” ; (נס גדול היה שם) The letters in Israel,  נ ג ה פֹּ stand for “A Great Miracle Happened Here” (פֹּה (נס גדול היה .

Like many Jews, my connection to Israel is very strong. When I was in middle school, high school and college, I was an active member of Young Judaea (YJ), Hadassah’s peer-led youth movement, now independent, though still receiving Hadassah support.

I remember thinking that Young Judaea’s emphasis on our calling ourselves Zionists felt silly to me. “Why do we even need a word to state that?” I wondered. Of course, the Jewish people are connected to the land of Israel. Jewish people have lived in the land of Israel since the beginning of recorded history. Most of our holidays are tied to the land of Israel in some way. In our prayers, we often address G-d as the “G-d of Israel.” My favorite prayer is Shalom Rav (Abundant Peace), a prayer for peace for all the people of Israel.

When Jews pray, no matter where in the world they are located, the tradition is to position themselves facing Jerusalem.

To me, the word “Zionist” is synonymous with “Jewish.” Jewish practice, Jewish tradition and Jewish history are all rooted in Israel. Close to half of the world’s Jewish........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)