Of all the holidays on the Jewish calendar, Chanukah -- which began Dec. 14 -- has always been one of my favorites. Even when I was younger and far less observant, I appreciated the holiday’s well-known rituals and customs: lighting the menorah, spinning the dreidel, eating potato latkes, and so forth. My given Hebrew name -- “Maccabee,” because Judah Maccabee was nicknamed “the hammer?...