Hanukkah gelt
Chocolate gelt
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| Alternative names | Dmei chanukah |
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| Type | Chocolate |
| Main ingredients | Chocolate |
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Hanukkah gelt (Yiddish: חנוכה געלט ḥanukah gelt ; Hebrew: דמי חנוכה dmei ḥanukah, both meaning literally "Hanukkah money") refers to money as well as chocolate coins given to Jewish children on the festival of Hanukkah.
Rabbi 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 (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 coins. 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 Hanukka gelt. That year, the coin bore the image of the same menorah that appeared on Maccabean coins 2,000 years ago.
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