The Unlikely Tale of a Mormon Writing a Hanukkah Song

I just came across an article that made me do a double-take. From the article:

Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a solemn-faced Republican with a soft spot for Jews and a love of Barbra Streisand, has penned a catchy holiday tune, "Eight Days of Hanukkah."

This is his first Jewish song, and he says it will not be his last. Apparently he was asked to write a Hanukkah song by a Jewish writer named Jeffrey Goldberg. They were talking about Hatch's love for songwriting and Goldberg said he has a problem with "the general lameness of Hanukkah music." So he asked Hatch to write a song (he enlisted a Mormon to write a non-lame religious song? Not possible). And finally Hatch wrote a song. And thus a miracle was born! A cheesy, synthesized miracle (that includes a very festive "HEY!" in the song).

There was a whole lot of head-scratching going on throughout the article:

"Anything I can do for the Jewish people, I will do," Mr. Hatch said

At one point, Mr. Hatch unbuttons his white dress shirt to expose a golden mezuzah necklace he wears every day. Mezuzahs also adorn the doorways of his homes in Washington and Utah. Mr. Hatch keeps a Torah in his Senate office. "Not a real Torah, but sort of a mock Torah," he said. "I feel sorry I'm not Jewish sometimes."

Mr. Hatch enlisted his collaborator, Madeline Stone, a Jewish songwriter from the Upper West Side of Manhattan who specializes in Christian music...

[Hatch] said his ultimate goal would be for his idol, Ms. Streisand, to perform one of his songs. "It would be good for her and good for me," Mr Hatch said.

I don't know if I'd go that far...let's just say it would be good for you, Orrin.

Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.

I love how at the end of the video, one of the guys in the studio calls it a "A hip-hop Hanukkah song". It definitely doesn't get more hip-hop than that.