Maccabeats seek a Hanukkah miracle

Music videos: When they’re not borrowing the imagery of devil worship, they’re showcasing young singers rolling joints filled with precious gems.

Unless, of course, the video is made by the wholesome young musicians of the Maccabeats, a student a capella group at Yeshiva University. For their latest YouTube clip, the New York City singers have combined Hanukkah celebrations with a call for viewers to sign up for the Gift of Life bone marrow registry, which matches potential donors with leukemia patients. In the video, entitled “Shine,” members of the Maccabeats perform at locations on and near the YU campus, at various points also swabbing the insides of their mouths — part of the test that categorizes types of bone marrow.

The video also shows lab technicians triumphantly celebrating a minor Hanukkah miracle — finding a match between a donor and a leukemia patient — as well as a group of schoolchildren who make a financial contribution to Gift of Life.

Given the season and the Maccabeats’ Hanukkah-inspired name, viewers won’t be surprised to see a bit of holiday imagery and hear some holiday-based lyrics.

The video has generated more than 105,000 hits during its first five days online — an impressive showing for a university music group.