Sinai Event Doesn’t Set Dreidel Record, but Is Nonetheless a Winner

On Dec. 10, the third day of Hanukkah, Sinai Temple families, primarily from the Conservative synagogue’s religious school, came together for “Dreidelmania,” a community event that attempted to break the Guinness World Record for number of dreidels being simultaneously spun in one location for at least 10 seconds.

The current official record, according to guinessworldrecords.com, is 734 dreidels, set in Dec. 2011 by United Synagogue Youth in Philadelphia. 

The event was not an official attempt to break the Guinness record. For that to occur, a representative of Guinness would have had to been in attendance, according to event organizers. 

But that didn’t stop organizers from taking preparation for the event with the utmost seriousness. Dreidelmania Co-Chair and past Sinai Temple President Jamie Berman tested several types of dreidels and table surfaces before settling on which ones would achieve maximum spinning effectiveness.

Regarding dreidels, “Wood does better than plastic,” Berman explained to the Journal. “You also want to find one with a circular bottom.”

This marked the second “Dreidelmania” at Sinai, and its organizers considered it an unqualified success.

“It was about time we did it again,” Leslie Wachtel, the event co-chair, said.

While it was free to attend on Sunday, the synagogue sold pizza, donuts and drinks, including Maccabee Mocktails, to raise funds for Israel. Since Oct. 7, Sinai Temple has been supporting Friends of Israel Defense Forces and American Friends of Magen David Adom.

Attendees at “Dreidelmania” included Sinai’s religious school families; Sinai Akiba Academy students and their parents; as well as families not affiliated with the Westwood-based congregation’s schools.

Bringing some star power, former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, who has become an outspoken supporter of Israel, attended the event, and rapper Kosha Dillz, fresh off a trip to Israel, performed. His two-song set included his viral holiday hit, “The Hanukkah Song,” a hip-hop-infused remix of Adam Sandler’s classic.

Many volunteers pitched in to make the event happen. 

At the start of the day, around 11:15 a.m., each registrant was given a large number to stick to their shirt, allowing organizers to keep track of the number of spinners. It was a bit like the numbers provided to runners of a marathon — this reporter was assigned number 438 — except this activity would require decidedly less exertion than a 26-mile sprint. 

Still, as Sinai Co-Senior Rabbis Erez Sherman and Nicole Guzik led the countdown to the mass dreidel spin — “10, 9, 8 …” the husband-and-wife clergy team said in unison — the anticipation in the air was palpable as spinners, standing at long wooden tables arranged in rows in the temple hall, readied their dreidels.

And when the countdown concluded, everyone spun away.

Some 550 dreidel spinners turned out in person, along with additional virtual participants “spinning in” from Israel, Australia and even Montenegro.

Alas, Sinai came up short of the record. Some 550 dreidel spinners turned out in person, along with additional virtual participants “spinning in” from Israel, Australia and even Montenegro, but it was not enough to set a record.

Nevertheless, the event continued the synagogue’s undefeated streak of staging fun, family-friendly and festive Hanukkah events. 

“We did it to unite the community, to bring people together,” Wachtel told the Journal. “It’s a very difficult time for the community, and we wanted to spread some light in the dark times.”

And anyway, “It’s not about the record,” Wachtel’s husband, Andy, said. “It’s about the spirit.”