Dreidels and duct-tape get new meaning

The dreidel, a traditional Jewish top spinning game often played during hanukkah, was taped to a synagogue wall as a reminder, anything can be used to discuss profound ideas. 

In 2019, artist Maurizio Cattelan debuted “Comedian,” at Art Basel Miami – a world-renowned annual art show. The artwork, a banana duct taped to an art gallery wall, provoked questions of what gets defined as art and how it is valued. 

“Comedian” sold at auction for $6.2 million in November 2024. 

With the same sentiment in mind, Rabbi Anchelle Perl, director of Chabad Mineola in Long Island, duct-taped a dreidel to the wall of the synagogue in what he called, “From Banana to Dreidel: Finding Joy, Resilience, and Divine Connection in Duct Tape.”

He explained, the duct tape symbolized strength and connection, while the dreidel held a symbolism greater than just being a game. 

“Each spin of the dreidel reminds us that life, like the dreidel, is unpredictable. But Hashem’s [God’s] hand is always guiding us,” Perl said. 

Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale explained the history of the dreidel to better understand Perl’s art piece. The origin of the dreidel came from a time when Greeks and Assyrians forbade people from learning the Torah and keeping Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest beginning at sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. 

She said, people continued to pursue their Jewish faith privately, and when Greek soldiers would pass by, students would pull out a dreidel and coins to pretend they were playing, instead of studying. 

“It was used as a cover-up for learning, explaining why they were gathering,” Jaffe said. 

She continued her explanation with the history of the miracle of Hanukkah, which began when oil could not be found to light the menorah – a seven-branched Jewish candelabra. When the Jews managed to find oil, it was only enough for one day, but lasted for eight days, nonetheless. Giving light to the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah.

Jaffe said she understood Perl’s intention with the symbolism of the dreidel and that she believed God had control to spin things, using the miracle of Hanukkah and the Jews surviving the Greeks as examples of God’s hands symbolically manipulating the top of the dreidel. 

“That’s where this rabbi got the idea of God spinning things,” Jaffe said, referring to the meaning behind Rabbi Perl’s art installation. 

Jaffe said she understood the rabbi’s message and saw the multiple layers of meaning in his duct-taped dreidel, from the reminder of the importance of the dreidel to finding a way to spark conversations. 

“From the simplest everyday items, you can open up profound and meaningful conversation. I think as long as you ask the right questions,” Jaffe said.