Kvitlech

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Kvitlech[1] (Yiddish, literally "notes", "slips")[2] is a game similar to blackjack played in some Jewish homes during the Hanukkah season.[3] Hanukkah card playing was a traditional cover for Torah study, which had been outlawed for Jews by a Syrian-Greek king in the second century BCE[3] (presumably Antiochus IV Epiphanes).[citation needed]

The original kvitlech deck consisted of 31 numbered cards, artistically colored, representing the 31 kings against whom the Israelites fought under Joshua, a biblical prelude to the Maccabean victory.[4]

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[edit] References

  1. ^ also spelled Kvitlach, Quitlok
  2. ^ Steinmetz, Sol (2005). Dictionary Of Jewish Usage: A Guide To The Use Of Jewish Terms. Rowman & Littlefield, 66. ISBN 0742543870. 
  3. ^ a b Barlow, Rich (2007-12-02). Gambling had role in religious history. The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ Ingram, Chaim (2006-12-14). Eight Chanukah ‘lites’. The Australian Jewish News. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
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