It was a dizzying night Monday at Binghamton University in upstate New York, as the Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life attempted to break the world record for most dreidels spinning at once.
The students decided the challenge would be a fun addition to Chabad-Lubavitch of Binghamton’s annual Chanukah party and toy drive, said junior Lucy Schwartz, the major events coordinator on the Chabad student board.
“By putting on such a large event, it really unites the Binghamton campus,” she said. “It unites the students and different organizations that sign up to spin the dreidels, and shares with everybody the amazing holiday of Chanukah that we’re so lucky to celebrate this time of year.”
Chabad counted 749 people on Monday night during its attempt, which would have been enough to break the record of 734, but Guinness World Records rules stipulate that the dreidels must spin for a minimum of 10 seconds. There were about 50 dreidels that couldn’t maintain their spin for the required time, said Chabad’s student board president, senior Samantha Greenstein.
The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top that’s a popular part of Chanukah festivities and lore. Tradition has it that the game dates back more than 2,200 years to the days of the Chanukah victory over Syrian-Greek rule in Israel. Students were forbidden to study Jewish subjects, and if soldiers arrived they’d hide what they were studying and pretend to be playing a game with a dreidel-like top.
Despite the disappointment of not setting the record, the event was a major success for the organization, which saw record attendance at its Chanukah party, with more than 900 people throughout the night, and raised a record amount through its toy drive – $10,500 worth of toys – for the charity Chai Lifeline. Chai Lifeline, which will distribute the toys to children with serious pediatric illnesses, provides programming and support, such as summer camps, counseling and family fun days, for these children and their families.
“Our goal was $10,000, which we thought was a little ambitious, but we not only reached it but surpassed it. And really that was the most important thing,” Greenstein said. “We all think it’s a great charity and we love being able to provide toys for kids during the holiday season and being able to light up the lives of children who are suffering.”
This is the fourth year Chabad has held a toy drive for Chai Lifeline, said Rabbi Levi Slonim, Chabad-Lubavitch of Binghamton’s programming director, who noted that each year the amount collected increases, from $3,000 worth of toys in 2009 to $10,500 this year. Getting together to try to break a world record is fun and “neat” on its own, he said, but the best part is that the event wasn’t just for the fun of it.
“It had a purpose,” he said. “The message of the toy drive is to take the light of Chanukah and add more light into the world.”
Organizers were also pleased with the record number of attendees – more than 900 throughout the night – at the Chanukah party.
“A lot of work from a lot of different, wonderful, motivated students went into this event,” Schwartz said. “Binghamton is lucky to have such a strong Jewish presence and people willing to put a lot of time into these events.”
Chabad distributed more than 1.200 menorahs to students this year, and while candles are usually prohibited in the dormitories because of fire concerns, students were permitted to light menorahs in common areas of their dormitory buildings for the first time this year.
“It really fosters a sense of community by having students lighting together,” Greenstein said.
Chabad hasn’t decided yet if it will attempt to break the record again in the future, Slonim said, but he expects next year’s toy drive to top this year’s collections. Students are looking for tangible causes for charity and Chai Lifeline’s mission speaks to them, he said. Chabad’s mission is to strengthen the Jewish community, while Chanukah’s message is to brighten the world. The toy drive’s success shows “a tremendous amount of commitment” by the students, he said.
“There was a tremendous display of Jewish pride last night,” he said. “It gave the opportunity for hundreds to celebrate Chanukah and be exposed to its message.”
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