Chapter 8: The Holidays

72 Miles til Kentucky

When you’re Jewish, it seems like the holidays are always around the corner, and there always seems to be some sort of competition. Whether it’s the High Holidays just as school gets into full swing, or how Chanukah and Passover often, but confusingly not always, overlap with Christmas and Easter. There’s a lot of explaining to do, and partnerships to be built.
That’s what led my mother into my elementary school classrooms, where she fried latkes and read Herschel and Chanukah Goblins for me and my Christian classmates. It’s also what led her into interfaith clergy work, and a Passover partnership with the local Catholic Church. As for my father? Well, he used his engineering skills to build Chanukah holiday decorations for the front yard, which he still claims was easier than hanging Christmas lights on the house.
And by the time I got old enough to fully express myself, and my complicated Jewish identity, it was a holiday concert that finally tipped me over the edge.
This episode also features commentary from two important experts—1) Dr. Laura Yares of Michigan State, both on the experiences of 19th century American Jews, and her own experiences as a 21st century immigrant Jewish American, and 2) Rabbi Jen Gubitz, co-host of the OMFG Podcast and founder of Modern Jewish Couples where she trains clergy, counsels interfaith couples on how to build their own unique Jewish or Jew-“ish” home.
72 Miles features the stories of three separate interfaith Jewish families–two real, one not, and one mine. Together, they trace 150 years of Kentucky history, with experiences that resonate today—about being Jewish in America, about being Jewish and southern at the same time. About being Jewish, being interfaith, and the blending of the two.
So strap in, and take a ride with me, up and down I65, or back and forth on the L&N Railroad. In the end the when and the who don’t make as much difference and you might think. But the where sure does. My name is Nathan Jordan Vaughan. It’s 72 Miles til Kentucky. Let’s get moving.
72 Miles Til Kentucky was written and produced by Nathan J. Vaughan. Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lofi Girl. Curricular components for each episodes are available on the show's website.
You can learn more about me and any of my work on my website, www.nathanjvaughan.com.
Subscribe to my regular Torah podcast, Modern Torah anywhere you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening.