Time to break out the Chanukah song!
And now for an interesting tidbit regarding one of the “Jews” mentioned in the song, Rod Carew:
There is no evidence that Carew ever formally converted to Judaism, although he wore a chai necklace during his playing days. His first wife, Marilynn Levy, is Jewish, and he was a member of Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Ana, California. Their three daughters were raised in the Jewish tradition and had their bat mitzvahs there. When one daughter, Michelle, died at age 18, services were held at Beth Shalom, and she was buried in the family plot at the United Hebrew Brotherhood Cemetery in Richfield, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, where Rod Carew played for the Minnesota Twins.
A 1976 article written in Esquire magazine was one of the first publications to assert that Carew is Jewish. Sportswriter Harry Stein released his “All-Time All-Star Argument Starter” article which consisted of five different ethnic-based baseball teams. Carew was erroneously named the second baseman on Stein’s All-Jewish team. A 2007 Salon article named Carew one of the 18 best Jewish ballplayers of all time; the article clarified that Carew was not Jewish but commended him for raising his children in the faith and for marrying Levy in spite of death threats he received.
Another source propagating the story is the 1994 song, “The Chanukah Song“, written and performed by entertainer Adam Sandler, in which he lists famous Jews of the 20th century: “…O.J. Simpson… not a Jew! But guess who is: Hall of Famer Rod Carew! He converted!” Carew later wrote Sandler and explained the situation, adding that Carew thought the song was “pretty funny.”
Update: Adam Sandler, you genius!
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