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Editors’ Pick

December 22, 2014

Why Do Jews Give Gifts on Hanukkah?

The custom of parents giving their children coins on Hanukkah—known as Hanukkah gelt—is well-known today, but goes almost unmentioned in pre-20th-century sources. It seems that the practice evolved from an older custom of giving holiday charity, especially to rabbis and cantors. An even newer custom, writes David Golinkin, is giving presents instead of money:

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December 22, 2014

  1. What the EU Court’s Ruling on Hamas Reveals

  2. The UN Hosts an Exhibit to Demonize Israel

  3. Why Do Jews Give Gifts on Hanukkah?

  4. Magic Bowls: A Key to the World of the Talmud?

  5. Norman Mailer’s Reflections on His Jewish Identity