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Watch the Hanukkah-Themed Hamilton Parody Performed for the Obamas

2 minute read
By Olivia B. Waxman

Now online: A Hanukkah-themed parody of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton performed for President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at the Dec. 14 White House Hanukkah Party by the Jewish a cappella group Six13.

The medley explains how Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem that had been defiled by some Hellenistic kings after the Maccabean Revolt (see 1 Maccabees 4:36-59). According to this account, Judah Maccabee and his followers built a new altar and dedicated it on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev in 165 B.C.

Sample lyrics from the spoof of the musical’s opening number “Alexander Hamilton”:

How does a humble ragtag band full of boys from yeshiva,
Rise up to triumph against unbelievable odds
In a battle our people still remember,
And celebrate with dreidels every year around December?…

Judah, Judah Maccabee
They call me Judah, Judah Maccabee
And Antiochus says he’s number one
But just you wait, just you wait…

I am not throwing gelt in the pot
I am not throwing gelt in the pot
I’m straight gimmel-spinnin’ while y’all are nun and shinnin’
And I’m not throwin’ gelt in the pot
Make the menorah hot

Watch the full song below.

Another Jewish a cappella group, The Maccabeats, also recently released a Hanukkah-themed parody of Hamilton, so you can compare the two here.

In 2016, the holiday starts the evening of Dec. 24 and ends the evening of Jan. 1, 2017.

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com