Hanukkah gelt ( yi, חנוכה געלט '; he, דמי חנוכה ', both meaning literally "Hanukkah money"), also known as gelt (), refers to money given as presents during the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

. It is typically given to children and sometimes teachers, often in conjunction with the game of Dreidel. In the 20th century, candy manufacturers started selling Hanukkah-themed chocolate coins wrapped in gold or silver foil, as a substitute or supplement to real money gifts.

History

Currency

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

A. P. Bloch has written that

"The tradition of giving money (Chanukah gelt) to children is of long standing. The custom had its origin in the 17th-century practice of Polish Jewry to give money to their small children for distribution to their teachers. In time, as children demanded their due, money was also given to children to keep for themselves. Teenage boys soon came in for their share. According to
Magen Avraham Abraham Abele Gombiner () (c. 1635 – 5 October 1682), known as the Magen Avraham, born in Gąbin (Gombin), Poland, was a rabbi, Talmudist and a leading religious authority in the Jewish community of Kalisz, Poland during the seventeenth centur ...
(18th century), it was the custom for poor yeshiva students to visit homes of Jewish benefactors who dispensed Chanukah money (Orach Chaim 670). The rabbis approved of the custom of giving money on Chanukah because it publicized the story of the miracle of the oil."

According to popular legend, it is linked to the miraculous victory of the Maccabees over the ancient Greeks. To celebrate their freedom, the Hasmoneans minted national

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s. It may also have begun in 18th-century Eastern Europe as a token of gratitude toward religious teachers, similar to the custom of tipping service people on Christmas. In 1958, the Bank of Israel issued commemorative coins for use as Hanukkah gelt. That year, the coin bore the image of the same menorah that appeared on Maccabean coins 2,000 years ago.

Chocolate coins

American

chocolatier A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. Education and training Traditionally, chocolatiers, ...

s of the 20th century picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating chocolate ''gelt''. In the 1920s, Loft's, an American candy company, produced the first chocolate gelt, wrapped in gold or

silver foil Vark (also varak or warq) is a fine filigree foil sheet of pure metal, typically silver but sometimes gold,

in mesh pouches resembling

money bag A money bag (or money sack) is a bag normally used to hold and transport coins and banknotes, often closed with a drawstring.The gelt chronicles
Leah Koenig, ''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...

'', reprinted in Haaretz, November 12, 2009
Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz
"Chanukkah and Christmas Chocolate Melt into Gelt," in
On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao
', Jewish Lights Publishing, 2013. Loft's was followed by another US-based company called Bartons. Today most of the chocolate Hanukkah gelt, sometimes called ''geld'', sold in the United States is imported, including from Dutch firms Steenland Chocolate and the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i firms Elite and Carmit. Gourmet versions of chocolate gelt have been produced in the United States and Europe as well.

Customs

Parents often give children chocolate gelt to play dreidel with. In terms of actual ''gelt'' (money), parents and grandparents or other relatives may give sums of money as an official Hanukkah gift. According to a survey done in 2006, 74 percent of parents in Israel give their children Chanukah gelt. In Hasidic communities, the

Rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...

s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a '' segulah'' for success. The amount is usually in small coins.

Timing

Since money cannot be handled on the Sabbath, the timing of giving Chanukah gelt is limited by some to only one day of the week, since the fourth day can never occur on a Friday and the fifth lighting does not ever come on the Shabbat.

References

External links

Party Judaica LLC Official Website
{{Jewish cuisine Hanukkah foods Jewish cuisine Snack foods Confectionery Commemorative coins Yiddish words and phrases