The Santa Claus Dreidel: Peaceful Compromise Or Assimilation Nightmare?
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
I had a little dreidel, I made it out of the fusing of two diametrically opposed religious traditions!
It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. But with the intermarriage debate continuing to spin Jews of every denomination into a tizzy, can spinning a wooden top hurt? Could a great miracle happen here, in America, where consuming material goods has so often had the capacity to smooth over our greatest cultural anguish?
According to Archie McPhee, the Seattle-based oddities company, the answer is “maybe!” The “charmingly misguided” (according to the company’s own description) dreidel is “sure to confound and confuse both Jews and Gentiles alike.”
And in case the Santa Dreidel doesn’t amuse you, I humbly offer you a deluxe dreidel stadium: Spinagogue.
Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
