THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, December 6, 1985

BORENSTEIN'S

The Chanukah Store
25242 Greenfield Rd., Oak Park, MI 48237

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DESIGNER SAMPLES

Bridal Gown Sale 50-15% OFF

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2nd to SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15th

Also, Bridal Veils and Bridesmaid Gowns
at Exceptional Savings

ALL SALES FINAL • CASH OR CHECK ONLY • PREVIOUS PURCHASES EXC.

Creations By Pollak's Inc.

Hunters Square Orchard Lake at 14 Mile Rd.

851-5111

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At Harvard Row we make gift
choosing so easy. Our shops
are filled with welcome treasures
to delight the hearts
of family members and friends.
And you can do all your shopping
in fast one stop.
Visit us soon. . . enjoy our
stores and services, and have
a very happy holiday.

LASSALE

Watches cut and polished like gemstones.

Lich precise line and facet is part ot a grand design to draw light. magnify
richness. I ulti is dramatically thin: both are satiny gold-time \• i al need,:
stripe dials his
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smoky. hers lighter grey and crystals with mercimal.
raceme borders. Such extraordinary beauty wears well for a hictime.
Lassalc.. :rhe heritage is obvious.

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THE MERCHANTS OF

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C- ONiNf0L

Jewelers & Silversmiths Since 1916
Diamond Brokers, Importers, Jewelry .Manufacturers

MEADOWBROOK FISHER BUILDING
DOWNTOWN
VILLAGE. MALI.
DETROIT
BIRMINGHAM
ROCHESTER
125 FISHER BLDG. 280 N. WOODWARD

375-9100

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Greetings of the season
during this beautiful
Festival of Lights.

r.

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872-3360

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642-7157

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11 MILE ROAD AND LAHSER

Se , k0 Ti me Co rp

delicacy called birmennailes, a
tortilla-like pancake made from
fried meal, is quite popular. In
the Ashkenzai communities the
pancake batter is made from
grated potatoes and the dish is
called latkes and eaten together
with apple sauce or sour cream.
In Israel, the entire nation
snacks on sufganiot, fried jelly
donuts, either of the home-made
variety or ones bought on street
corner stands.
, Many Jewish communities
have a tradition of eating dairy
products to recall the bravery of
Judity. According to Jewish
apocrypha the beautiful Judith,
reputedly a member of the
Hasmonean (Maccabee) family,
invited the enemy general
Holofernes to a banquet. Judith
insisted on feeding him only
dairy products and when he
grew thirsty she gave him wine
to quench his thirst until he fell
into a drunken stupor, where-
upon she stabbed him to death.
In some Sephardic com-
munities the seventh day of
Chanukah is observed as a spe-
cial women's feast honoring
Judith. In North Africa, women
and girls would fill the
synagogue where they withdrew
the Torah scrolls from the Ark
and kissed them. In a special
service they then recited prayers
and blessings invoking God's
protection of women, after which
they returned home and ate
cheese dishes and engaged in
song and dance. The women of
Hebron also set aside the
seventh day of Chanukah to
celebrate and eat dairy de-
licacies.
foods,
Chanukah
Like
Chanukah games are also de-
eply symbolic. Although Jewish
tradition generally frowns on
gambling and games of chance,
on Chanukah such games are
permitted. The most popular is
the spinning top or dreidel
game, where even children 'may
be found betting on the turn of
the dreidel using nuts or
chanukah gelt as their stakes.
Although the game originates
from early medieval Europe it is
popular with Sephardim as well
as Ashkenazim.
The top's Yiddish name,
dreidl, comes from the German
dreihn or to turn over. The
game symbolically recalls the
turn of events when Judah Mac-
cabee and his small rag-tag
army defeated the mighty Greek
empire. On the dreidel are
carved the Hebrew letters which
form an acrostic for the phrase
"a great miracle happened
there." These letters simultane-
ously indicate the players next
move in the game. So inherent a
part of Chanukah was this feat-
ival game that concentration
camp inmates during World
War II carved dreidels from
their wooden shoes.
Many dreidels are now made
from plastic, there are menorot
which use electric lights and
supermarkets stock ready-to-use
frozen latkes. But the spirit of
Chanukah remains and the
Maccabean story of Jewish revi-
val and victory of the few over
the many is as timely today as
ever before.

(313) 967-3920

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SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN

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