Hanukkah Gelt: What It Is and How to Use It
See how Hanukkah gelt works for dreidel, gifts, and charity, plus simple tips for saving and spending it.
Hanukkah gelt means "Hanukkah money" in Yiddish and Hebrew and today refers to real coins given to children or, more commonly, foil-wrapped chocolate coins. Families use it as stakes for dreidel, rewards for learning, small holiday money, and funds for charity giving. My Jewish Learning explains both present-day forms in its Hanukkah vocabulary guide.
Real coins teach saving and sharing, while chocolate coins keep the game sweet and low-cost.
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Where did giving gelt begin?
The documented custom began in 17th-century Poland. Chabad traces it to parents giving children coins to pass to teachers in thanks for Torah teaching and study, as described in its history of gelt. The idea also reaches further back.
Jewish tradition links it to the first Jewish-minted coins after Maccabean independence around 142 BCE, reportedly stamped with a menorah, and to the Hebrew word "hinnukh" for education.
Why are most gelt coins chocolate?
Chocolate gelt is much newer than money gelt. Rabbi Deborah Prinz reports disputed origins, with some crediting Loft's candy company in 1920s America and others citing earlier European Jewish chocolatiers. That shift made sense for families.
Chocolate gave every child the same light, low-cost token for play and treats. Real money kept a separate role for saving and giving.
How do you use gelt to play dreidel?
Families use gelt as stakes for dreidel. My Jewish Learning describes a common pattern in its guide to dreidel play: each player antes 10-15 identical pieces into a pot, then spins the four-letter top to take, share, or add coins. Use identical pieces so one win equals another.
Keep extra gelt nearby for refills.
- Give each player the same count and type of gelt.
- Place the ante in the center before the first spin.
- Spin in turn, follow the letter, and refill the pot when it runs low.
How can children save, spend, and donate it?
Parents and teachers give gelt to reward Torah learning and positive behavior. The coins mark effort, not just the holiday. Recipients also learn tzedakah, or charity, by donating part of money gelt.
Chabad notes a practice of giving about 10% to charity, with added giving during Hanukkah, in its history of gelt. The remainder goes toward kosher, wholesome uses rather than treats alone. Check chocolate gelt for kosher dairy certification, then divide the rest among saving, spending, playing, and donating.