Wearing my ‘ugly’ Hanukkah sweater is really a symbol of freedom

On the first night of Hanukkah, my wife gave me a sweater that was definitely the match to any ugly Christmas sweater I’d ever seen or heard about.

In bright royal blue and white, it has on it many Jewish symbols you’d expect for the season (menorahs, Jewish stars, bottles of oil), and others you might not (shofars and Torahs).

I smiled – how could you not? – and started to do what you do with a new gift: wear it out in public. This ugly Hanukkah sweater was an immediate conversation-stopper and hit. People laughed out loud and asked where I had gotten it (I gave full credit to my wife’s online shopping skills). When I started wearing it daily at synagogue, people started to debate whether I could keep wearing it beyond Hanukkah. The consensus seemed to be that some other holidays, such as Simchat Torah, might present opportunity. Others, such as Yom Kippur, not so much.

We went on a vacation trip to Boston for a couple of days during the holiday, and it seemed normal by then to wear my new sweater all around. Not much happened until one morning when we were standing on the platform of the T in Cambridge.

A husband and wife and their two young sons, about 8 or 9, were standing nearby. One of the boys looked at me and started grinning. “We’re Jewish too,” he said with the transparent honesty of a child. His mother, with a smile but also some concern, said, they were from Chicago and added, “They’ve been trained to watch.”

All of a sudden, it hit me. Wearing this comically garish Hanukkah sweater, so charming within the Jewish world, could stigmatize me. At a time when the United States has seen an upswing of anti-Semitic incidents and when fears have greatly increased, the distance between proud emblem and dangerous target is uncomfortably small. In Rhode Island, for instance, in recent months, wearing a kippah on the street has become less routine as there have been incidents of Jews being subjected to insults.

We live in a fragile moment in time. We can’t take our ability to freely express our religions for granted – even wearing an ugly sweater. The need to work for more tolerance and protection is huge, as is the necessity for constant vigilance.

The work done by the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is vital and needs more support. The same for the multi-faith work already underway. Police and other layers of government, even if already sensitive to the situation, need to be encouraged to be as involved as possible. It is not a Jewish issue, or a Muslim issue, or that of any other group. It is an issue for everyone.

When I first put on my new Hanukkah sweater, I didn’t recognize that I could be stepping into much more. I didn’t think about how lucky I am to be able to wear the sweater in public – in other parts of the world, Jews wouldn’t even think of making such a display of religion. With the freedom that still exists in the United States comes the obligation to fight for its continuation and strengthening.

NOEL RUBINTON is a writer based in Providence.