Please, Santa, Won't You Bring Me A Diamond Dreide

From our fabulous pals at Jewcy

The Diamond Dreidel? Now That's Some Serious Gelt!

by Carrie Goldberg, December 3, 2009

“Oh, Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of…precious stones?”

Finally, our connections in the diamond district have paid off in ways other than discounted engagement rings. Introducing the Jewish equivalent to the Victoria’s Secret million dollar bra, the diamond dreidel. This toy turned collector’s item from Mervis Diamond Importers gives a whole new meaning to holiday “gelt,” and in this recession, could not have come at a more appropriate time. Mervis claims this is the world’s first diamond dreidel, an almost one of a kind luxury that will cost you a pretty penny - $1,800 to be exact. While as Jews we may be saddened that this piece is not as edible as its chocolate gelt counterpart, its quality is sure to make up for its being made out of inedible, top-quality metal.

Let’s get to the specifics. The diamond dreidel features .96 carats hand-set in platinum and the diamonds are graded top-notch in both color and clarity. The stunning gleam of the stones is sure to appease anyone who sadly rolls a “nun” and is forced to put all their gelt back in the pot. On the other hand, for those who win the game of dreidel with this piece, you’re sure to feel like a Vegas high-roller. Pick up one of these to feel like you’re celebrating with the Trump-Kushner clan this Hannukah – but, be sure to order yours by December 9^th to ensure it arrives on time for the holiday. Who knows? Maybe by next year you’ll see this puppy being rolled in high-end casinos across the globe – who needs penny slots when you can win the big bucks by rolling a “gimmel?”

Three Steps To A Happy Hanukkah

OK. I know what you're thinking: "Lindy, when'r we gettin' to the fun stuff?" Right now my Hanukkah Honeys.

STEP ONE

Pour yourself a Hanukkah Gelt Martini...

Hanukkah Gelt Martini

2 parts chilled potato vodka
1 part Goldschlager

Combine in a shaker with ice, mix gently and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Serve with Hanukkah Gelt - what else?

STEP TWO

Then you'll need to kick back and listen to the styling sounds of our man, everybody's favorite croonin' cantor, Kennnnnnnnnnnney Eliiiiiiiiiiiiilis...

Yes,Virginia, there's Swinging Dreidel too!



And, oh yes... there's Oh Hannukah too!

If you don't already have Kenny's CD, what are you waiting for? You can get it here. Just in time for Christmas!


STEP THREE

You'll need something to eat, because the one thing Christians, Jews, and Others can agree on is that we can't have a holiday without something to nosh on. Check out the recipes at Chabad.org and don't you dare miss the kugel!

Now, there you go, you're all set for Hannukah. Get out those dreidels and prepare for battle.

On The First Day Of Hanukkah...

I don’t know if I’ll be able to come up with something brilliant and creative for eight days in a row but I’m inspired to try.

Hanukkah is one of my favorite celebrations, and not just because I like the feeling of seeing my dreidel tip over with the Gimmel on top. It’s a personal holiday for me. After all, my email address is HannukahLinda@... and some of you even call me that from time to time.

So, to kick off the Hanukkah Blog, I am going to re-post what I said a few years ago about how I got my email name. Here you go...

HannukahLinda@

This Hannukah eve seems like as good a time as any to talk about my rather unusual email address: hannukahLinda... I mean, it's unusual for an Anglican. Hannukah is not, after all, on the liturgical calendar.

It started out as a fun nick-name that some of the students in Hebrew School called me. We sang a Ladino song entitled Ocho kandelikas and the very first line is Hannukah Linda esta aqui..., and so for a few weeks I became Hannukah Linda. Then an adult friend started joking around with it. And, I even called myself that a few times.

It was later, along about Tu B'Sh'vat I'd say, that I thought about the significance of Hannukh and saw it's relevance to me.

You all know the Hannukah story of Roman oppression, the resistance, desecration, and returning. If you don't, Google it. It's a grand story and I couldn't do it justice here on the blog.

But there's another story that only I can tell: my own. It's tale of oppression, resistance and failure, desecration and redemption. Like the real story of Hannukah there are some battles, and there's some blood, and there have been some times when it looked as if all was lost.

Seriously.

And what does God give me? A tiny little dab of Hannukah oil.

You have to go back a little bit to the time of exile. See, it's hard to celebrate Sukkas in a foreign land. You can't shake the lulav in a state of oppression. So, the Hebrews had been having a hard time of it. They'd been in exile, treated like animals. Sukkot -- the days of our joy -- was not a present reality. But, the Hebrews remembered, and they longed for the sweetness of the etrog, the rustle of the palm and myrtle.

And what did God give them? A dab of oil.

For re-dedicating the temple, cleansing it and making it ready, God gave them one little dab of oil. Hardly enough.

But there was something in the Hebrews who re-took the temple, something in me too, and I am guessing in all of us. It's a little voice that says, "Light it anyway... see what happens."

For me, I've had some things to reclaim, some cleansing to do in my own life. But, every time I light the oil I have, no matter how small, it's enough. Dayenu!

The oil that God had tucked away in the temple burned for eight days, same number as Sukkot. Dayenu!.

Hannukah is not one of the major festivals. It's not all that spiritual. But, for me, it means that God has given me everything I need to cleanse the temple, to get myself ready for a new regime. Hannukah means that the days of my oppression are over and that Sukkot -- the days of my joy -- have been restored!

Hannukah makes new, and ready. In some ways, it's the perfect way to observe Advent. Hannukah is proof that even my own desecrated life can be restored.

The first words of the Hanerot Halalu, said while lighting the Hannukah candles are:

We light these lights
For the miracles and the wonders,
For the redemption and the battles...

So for my own battles, the miracles, and the wonders I've seen, for the redemption and cleansing I've experienced, all I can say is Nes Gadol Hayah Po, a great miracle happened here.