62 | DECEMBER 19 • 2024
J
N
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at thejewishnews.com
Up for a
Game of Dreidel?
I
have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. And when it’s dry and ready, then
dreidel I shall play!” This is the opening stanza of the all-time most popular
Chanukah song. So, I thought to myself, dreidels would be an interesting topic
for a “Looking Back.”
There is no shortage of dreidel content in the William Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History. I found dreidel articles and images on 1,349 pages. Lots
of good stuff.
Dreidel is the best-known children’s game for Chanukah
(adults can play, too!). The word dreidel is Yiddish, which means
“to spin,” and the game has been played during eight days of
Chanukah since the 16th century. In 2005, JN writer Elizabeth
Applebaum contributed a brief history of the dreidel for readers,
and “Dreidel, Dreidel: Jewish top reminds us of the great miracle
of Chanukah” is another fine article (Nov. 24, 2005, Dec. 22,
2000).
The first mention of dreidel is in the Dec. 3, 1926, issue of
the Detroit Jewish Chronicle. Hadar Zion announced that the program for its
upcoming Chanukah party would include a traditional dreidel game.
The JN’s weekly “Children’s Corner” by Uncle Daniel in the Nov. 30, 1945,
issue is an interesting story written in interesting times. Uncle Daniel explains
the dreidel’s Hebrew letters. He also declared, “Let us hope that this Hanukah
will mark a victory for the Maccabees of 1945 — the heroic men and women of
Palestine and Europe who are battling for their rights and for justice for Israel.”
I think, with minor tweaking, this statement is still relevant for Israelis today.
From my research into dreidels in the Archive, I also learned that dreidels come in many different forms,
beyond the standard wooden version. See “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I made it out of ….” (Hmm — that title sounds familiar) in the
2004 JN gift guide (Nov. 26, 2004). It is a beautiful display of various dreidel forms, from clay and ceramic to silver
and fused glass, to welded metal and, yes, dreidels made of wood.
My personal favorite dreidel? The dreidel you can eat! The chocolate dreidel from Gayle’s Chocolates in
Royal Oak. Better yet, perhaps, the 50-pound, 2-foot tall, chocolate dreidel created by Ross Fine Candies
in Waterford (Nov. 21, 2013).
As you know, the JN holds an annual Chanukah Art contest, and dreidels are often depicted in
submissions, often in the winning works of art. As this Looking Back was written, we had just
finished the judging for 2024. Every year, it’s a tough job picking winners from all the great
Chanukah art, but it is also a lot of fun. Among the many submissions this year, I counted dreidels
in 30 different works.
BTW — check out Lucy Aguilar’s winning dreidel masterpiece, which was on the cover of the
Dec. 19, 2019, JN.
Finally, if you would like to make your own dreidel, then see the Nov. 12, 2004, issue of the JN.
On page 5, you will find a pattern and instructions for building a dreidel. Just bring your own
glue and construction paper, and crayons or markers for coloring your homemade dreidel.
Chag Chanukah Sameach! Happy Chanukah!
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available for free at thejewishnews.com.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair