L'Italo-Americano

Dear Readers, Hanukah or Chanukah is coming up December 12th at sundown. Many famous and not so famous Italo-Americans have Jewish husbands, wives, "cugini, nipotini" or relatives. Among them was Enrico Fermi, who left Italy in 1938 with his Jewish w ife, Laura, and s ettled in Chicago where Fermi, a nuclear physicist, pioneered the nuclear chain reaction. Hanukah (in Hebrew means dedication) is a joyous eight-day observance when Jews - in fami- ly gathering, ceremonies and prayer - celebrate the victory of their ancestors over the Syrian army 2,000 years ago. In 165 B.C., leader Juddah Maccabee and his followers reclaimed the temple in Jerusalem, and for almos t a month, the J ew s cleaned and scrubbed it. On the twenty-fifth day, they rededicat- ed the temple. But, according to legend, only a small flask of oil was available - just enough to keep the lamps burning for one day. Yet, miraculously, the oil lasted eight days. Candles are lit in the menorah, a nine branched candelabra reminiscent of that lit from a s tarter candle by the Maccabees. One candle is lit the first night and another is added each successive night until the menorah is filled on the eighth night. The holiday is celebrated with songs, prayers, food and the exchange of gifts. The dreidel, a spinning top which originated during the time of the Maccabees, is a prominent part of games that are played nightly. *** Here is a Christmas story with a Jewish connection that happened in December 2004: Bennett Levin organized his own Consulting Engineering firm in 1966. His practice of Mechanical and Electrical engi- neering w as n atio n w id e in scope and specializing in the application and design of water source heat pump system. One evening Ben and Vivian were overwhelmed by sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. His wife said "We have to let them know we care." So they organized a trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed A rmy M edical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to the annual A rmy-N avy football game in Philly in December and created their own train line to do it. Yes, there are people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin, a native Philly guy, self-made millionaire and former L&T (D ept. of Licenses and Inspections) com- mish, is one of them. He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seat- ing and white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at a Private Park train yard. Just as many like to restore old cars, Mr Levin is a railroad car restoration enthusi- ast. O ne car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried John F. Kennedy to the A rmy-N avy game in 1961 and '62. Later, it carried his brother Bobby's body to D.C. for burial. "That's a lot of history for one car". H e and V ivian w anted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975, during which trains carried Army-Navy spec- tators from around the country directly to the stadium where the annual game is played. The Levins could think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wound- ed men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D.C. and Bethesda, in Maryland. "We wanted to give them a first-class experience, gourmet meals on board, private trans- portation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats: a real hero treatment". Through th e A rmy War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett met with Walter Reed's commanding gen- eral, who loved the idea. But Levin had some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops alone. No press on the trip, lest the s oldiers ' day of pampering devolve into a media circus. No politicians either, because "I didn't want some idiot mak- ing this trip into a campaign photo op." No Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy saluting superiors to relax. The general agreed to the conditions. O ver the next months , he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars from around the country, as these people tend to know each other into lending their vehicles for the day. The name of their temporary train? The Liberty Limited. Amtrak volunteered to trans- port the cars to D.C. - where they'd be coupled together for the round-trip ride to Philly, then back to their owners later. Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to Lincoln Financial Field, for the game. A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game, on the 50-yard line and lunch in a hospitality suite. And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for publicity, goodie bags for atten- dees. From Woolrich, stadium blankets. From Walmart, digital cameras . F rom N ikon, field glasses. From Gear, down jack- ets. There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too, since each was allowed to bring a friend or family member. The Marin es , though, declined the offer. "They voted not to take guests with them, so they could take more Marines," says Levin, choking up at the memory. Bennett's an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he'd react to meeting the 88 troops and gues ts at D .C.'s Union Station, where the trip originated. Some Gis were miss- ing limbs. Others were wheel- chair-bound or accompanied by medical personnel for the day. "They made it easy to be with them", he says. "They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce of self-pity from any of them". At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game. Not even Army's lopsided loss the Navy could deflate the group's rollick- ing mood. Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal, before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda. "The day was spectacular", says Levin. "It was all about these kids". The most poignant moment for the Levins w as w hen 11 Marines hugged them goodbye, then s ang them the M arine Hymn on the platform at Union Station. "One of the guys was blind, but he said 'I can't see you, but man, you must be f—-ing beau- tiful!' I got a lump so big in my throat, I couldn't even answer him". "My Christmas came early", says Levin, who is Jewish and loves the Christmas season. G od bles s the Levins . A nd bless the troops, every one... *** C h ris tmas , D ecemb er 25th , is the mos t w idely observed Christian festival of the year. The date was designated in 336 A.D. as a celebration of the birth of Chris t. The true date is unknow n. Historians believe that D ecember 25th w as chosen for celebrating the Chris t's M as s (Chris tmas ) becaus e it would correspond with the Winter Solstice, which, at the time was believed to occur on that date. Many of the cus- toms associated with Christmas are related to celebrations of the Solstice - decorating with ever- greens and mistletoe, for exam- ple. Many other Christmas tradi- tions, such as the exchanging of Christmas cards, are relatively new, originating in the mid-19th century, though gift giving fig- ures date back to earlier times. O ur modern day vers ion of Santa Claus was created in 1822 when Clement C. Moore penned "'Tw as th e N igh t Before C h ris tmas ". U ntil then, S t. N icholas Bis hop, the patron Saint of Children, was celebrat- ed on Dec. 6. *** "Grazie" to Signor M.A. for this Christmas story, which he told me was "only a story": Years ago, when Father Joe was pastor of our parish, he had a beautiful manger scene set up in front of the old church altar. It was a beautiful manger with fig- ures of the first Christmas. "It cost us a lot of money for the nativity scene imported from Italy", Father Joe said. O n Chris tmas morning, Father Joe, between Masses, went into the church to say some prayers in front of the imported crib. He was shocked to see the Baby Jesus gone. He looked everywhere in the church, but could not find the beautiful little imported Baby Jesus. He phoned the Kensington Police Station (then located at 115th Street and Prairie Avenue), and talked to Commander Tom O'Brien and reported that the Baby Jesus was missing; that s omeone had s tolen it. Commander O'Brien and his best detectives rushed to the church. Judge Alexander Napoli heard of the missing Baby Jesus from the crib in St. Anthony Church and he rushed to help find it. S omeone phoned Chicago Alderman Dominic Lupo and reported that the baby statue of Jesus in St. Anthony Church was stolen. He, too, looked all over the church, but could not find it. A s F ather J oe, Chief Tom O 'Brien, J udge Napoli, and Alder- man Lupo were in a huddle trying to figure out w h o w ou ld s teal th e B a b y J e s u s , in back of the church a little six year old boy came walking into the church and down the main aisle with a little red wagon. In the little red wagon was the statue of Baby Jesus! F ather J oe Chiminello, Alderman Lupo, Judge Napoli, and Police Chief O'Brien all rushed to the little boy pulling the little red wagon. They asked the little boy why he stole the Baby J es us s tatue from the Nativity Crib. The little boy replied, "I did- n't steal Baby Jesus. I prayed to Jesus last night for a little red wagon for my Christmas p res en t, an d w h en I w ok e up this morning, the little red wagon was under the tree. I wanted to give Baby Jesus the firs t rid e in my little red wagon." *** Remember you still have time to order "Merry C h ris tmas Strega Nona" and "The legend of old Befana" by Tomie De Paola for the "Bambini" in your life from the Italian Children's Market (telephone 1-310-427- 2700) or for Buon Natale: learn- ing songs and traditions in Italian and other books vis it www.italianchildrensmarket.com *** THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 13

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