wilmington, del. (jta) | There’s a new Chanukah stamp and, with apologies to David Letterman and his famous Top 10 lists, here are eight good reasons to buy them.
1. This is only the second time a Jewish holiday stamp has been issued (the first version of the Chanukah stamp came out in 1996). While not quite the miracle of 164 BCE, it’s not bad for 2004.
2. The dreidel motif looks Israeli, putting the country in a positive light.
3. No worries about licking any traif ingredients in the stamp glue; these stamps are self-adhesive.
4. The cost is a mere 37 cents, which can deliver a card across the street or all the way to the self-proclaimed “Frozen Chosen” Jews in Fairbanks, Alaska. A real seasonal bargain!
5. Keeping in touch by mail is still a nice alternative to sending and receiving impersonal e-mail messages.
6. Knowing a colorful dreidel adorns the stamp can brighten up any stack of mail and cheer the recipient.
7. After Chanukah, imagine how your non-Jewish friends will become more sensitive to the possibility that putting Madonna and Child stamps on their cards to you may not have been “kosher.”
8. How wonderful to be able to answer the question of why to use the stamp with the common Jewish saying, “Why not?”