JI and JMR The Maccabeats “Burn” Hanukkah Video 2013

In the weeks and months following the explosion of their debut music video “Candlelight“, The Maccabeats received a remarkable variety of correspondence from fans all around the world. But one young man’s email stood out. This young man explained that, of the three thousand students in his rural community’s public school, he was the only Jew. And until he saw their video, he had never told anyone that he was Jewish. However, after seeing our video and seeing that there was nothing wrong with being proud of your religion and heritage in a public setting, all that changed. He wore his kipa to school for the first time, and was not afraid to be proud of his tradition and who he was. That young man’s story inspired this year’s Hanukkah video. An adaptation of “Burn” by British singer Ellie Goulding, the video tells the story of how one young man draws inspiration from his Hanukkah experience to stand up to his modern-day “Greek” bullies. In a way, his family’s observance fulfills pirsumei nisa (publicizing the Hanukkah miracles, a term the Talmud uses to describe the function of the Hanukkah candles), as our protagonist channels the flames of Hanukkah to feed the fire of his Jewish pride.