I saw smiling people at the entrance to the The Draydel House, and indeed it is easy to smile upon seeing the abundance of spinning top gimmicks on display throughout the year.
"Please spin the dreidels," proprietor and artist Eran Grebler urges customers, emphasizing that the place is not a gallery but rather a place to be experienced. Visitors comply with his request and to the large placards urging customers to "please spin the dreidels".
Grebler began making dreidels some 25 years ago and for the past four years has been selling them at his store in the Old City of Caesarea.
"After studying art at Wizo I began making Judaica artifacts," he says. "I quickly noticed that the products that sell the most both in Israel and abroad are dreidels," Grebler says.
He began with standard dreidels designed for Hanukkah with the words "a great miracle happened here," and went on to make dreidels for every season. On the shelves of the Draydel House, which also serves as his workshop, patrons can find an assortment of dreidels, including special dreidels for lawyers, for stock investors and for travel agents.
"The idea for a travel agent dreidel came after a meeting with my travel agent," says Grebler, "everyone who walked into to her office asked what she though was the best holiday destination. I decided to help her and travelers by making a dreidel with the names of major cities worldwide engraved on its sides. Since then, she tells her customers to spin the dreidel and to let it decide for them."
The best selling dreidel is the blessing dreidel, engraved with a blessing for each day: It includes luck, health, wealth and love.
"This dreidel has something mystical about it," says Grebler seriously. "The dreidel usually stops at love for young people and at health for older people. Recently a young, handsome couple came in. They both spun the dreidel and in both cases it stopped on health, and they began to laugh. It turned out they were both doctors."
Among the 300 samples displayed at the store are other popular dreidels that sell like hot sufganiyot. These include dreidels that deal with matters of the heart. There is a dreidel for married women that lists all the familiar excuses. "After 20 years of marriage I had heard it all and decided to transfer it to the dreidels," says Grebler.
"Husbands can spin the dreidel to find out whether their wives will have a headache, whether they want to but had tough day, plus a myriad of other common excuses. The more fortunate husbands will get a "yes, sure", or "where?"
Even the dreidel called "phrases women like to hear" is popular among visitors. The indecisive partner can spin the dreidel that will select the appropriate phrase. Among the phrases are: "You look lovely today, I love you, and a host of other superlatives.
"I also call it the kissing dreidel," says Grebler, "because all the couples that have spun it here in the store end up kissing each other."
And if you happen to be looking for a cheap and original way to propose marriage (that doesn't require TV and special effects) you can find a simple and innocent dreidel; when it is spun it stops at the desired question.
Children also have a place at Grebler's store, particularly those whose parents give them household chores.
The dreidel will determine which chore the child will carry out on each day: Folding laundry, washing dishes, taking out the garbage and other chores. If the child is lucky enough, the dreidel will tell him that he is free and can go and watch TV.
For his overseas patrons, Grebler made the humus dreidel decorated with a humus plate including oil and paprika, pizza lovers also have a similar dreidle.
With regards to the differences between local and overseas customers he says, "Both local customers and those from Jewish communities overseas, particularly in the US, enjoy the gimmick year round. I have learned from experience that what is popular in the US comes to Israel about ten years later.
He continued, “For example, about ten years ago I made dreidels with lots of sequins which were considered tacky in Israel, but now everyone's looking for them."
In addition to the gimmick dreidels, Grebler's store carries standard dreidels that are far from being simple dreidels from the Far East. Inspired by a trip to London, Grebler made a dreidel with flying autumn leaves.
This year ahead of Hanukkah, the dreidalist from Caesarea also made a host of colorful Hanukkah Menorahs, whose candle wicks are made of - dreidels.
The Draydel House, Caesarea Port, prices NIS 30-300, open seven days a week.
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