All four of my great-great-grandparents on my grandpa's side were born in Poland and immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, settling in Jamaica, Queens, New York. My great-grandparents on my grandma's side were born in Russian-controlled Poland but immigrated to the United States and settled on a large farm in Liberty, New York, in 1921 to escape the blame some Germans put on Jewish people after Germany's loss of World War I. One of my great-great-grandparents on my grandpa's side, Max, traveled to Israel at some point before World War II. There, he bought a menorah and gifted it to my grandpa on his bar mitzvah a few years later. My grandpa and grandma met at Kean College in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and then had my dad. My grandpa passed the menorah down to my dad on his bar mitzvah. In 2018, my family moved here to Pfafftown, North Carolina, and we brought the menorah with us. My family, of course, uses this menorah to celebrate Hanukkah, a holiday dedicated to the Jewish victory during the Maccabean Revolt; the Maccabees rebelled against oppressive Greek rule, but once they reclaimed their Temple, there was only one jar of oil left. While it was only supposed to last one night, it burned for eight (hence the eight nights of Hanukkah), solidifying the Maccabean victory. My dad has, for personal reasons, chosen to distance himself from Judaism, but we still celebrate Hanukkah for all that it symbolizes: faith and perseverance (and, on an individual scale, my connection with my dad's side of the family).

– BF

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more