A Dreidel in Time Read online

  This book is dedicated to Eric—my lifelong partner and co-conspirator on our adventurous journey through life.

  Text copyright © 2019 by Marcia Berneger

  Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

  All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the written permission of Lerner Publications Company, except for the inclusion of brief quotes in an acknowledged review.

  KAR-BEN PUBLISHING, INC.

  An imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

  241 First Avenue North

  Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

  1-800-4-KARBEN

  Website address: www.karben.com

  Main body text set in Bembo Std regular 12.5/17.

  Typeface provided by Monotype Typography.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Berneger, Marcia, 1952– author.

  Title: A dreidel in time : a new spin on an old tale / Marcia Berneger.

  Description: Minneapolis, MN : Kar-Ben Publishing, [2019] | Summary: A brother and sister receive a strange Hanukkah gift and family heirloom—a magic dreidel that take them back in time to learn about the true meaning of Hanukkah.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018035865| ISBN 9781541546721 (lb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781541552654 (pb : alk. paper)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Hanukkah—Fiction. | Maccabees—Fiction. | Jews—History—586 B.C.-70 A.D.—Fiction. | Time travel—Fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.B46 Dr 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018035865

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  1-45650-41663-1/29/2019

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 Hanukkah

  Chapter 2 The Gift

  Chapter 3 Shin

  Chapter 4 Simon and Shoshana

  Chapter 5 Camp

  Chapter 6 The Warning

  Chapter 7 Nun

  Chapter 8 George Washington

  Chapter 9 Back to Modi’in

  Chapter 10 Captured

  Chapter 11 The Plan

  Chapter 12 Shoshana’s Warning

  Chapter 13 Escape

  Chapter 14 The Canyon

  Chapter 15 The Ambush

  Chapter 16 Hey

  Chapter 17 The Miracle of Hanukkah

  Chapter 18 Home at Last

  Chapter 1

  Hanukkah

  “PSST . . . Benjamin!”

  Benjamin looked up from the kitchen table. His sister, Devorah, was wiggling her finger at him to join her at the closet under their staircase. “Is that where you think Mom hid our Hanukkah presents this time?” he asked. “Don’t bother . . . I’ve already looked there.”

  Devorah walked over to the table. “So, smarty pants, where do you think they are?”

  “She’s probably got them someplace we can’t get to, like her car trunk. She got pretty mad at us last year, remember?”

  “That’s because when we found them, you opened yours.”

  “I was only eight years old!” Benjamin picked up his pencil. “I’ve got to finish my math homework before Mom comes home from work, or she won’t let me open any presents tonight. She and Dad will be home any minute.”

  “Mom said they might be late because they have to pick up some sour cream for the latkes.” Devorah looked at the hanukkiah set up on the dining room table. Eight candles stood in a row, led by the shamash, a candle raised above the others. It always reminded Devorah of a general leading his army into a battle against darkness. “We can help Mom by lighting the candles.”

  Benjamin’s wrinkled his eyebrows. “We’d better wait for her to get home.”

  “I’m having my Bat Mitzvah next year. I’m old enough to handle the lighter.”

  “That’s not what I meant. She’s already complaining about how the only thing we think about on Hanukkah is opening our presents.”

  “Come on. Say the blessings with me. She won’t be as mad if we tell her we lit them together.”

  “Maybe.” Benjamin joined her as she lit the shamash. She plucked it out of its holder and lit the other candles.

  The front door opened just as Devorah lit the eighth candle. She replaced the shamash in its holder, then ran over and gave Mom a big hug. “Hi. Let me take your coat and hang it up for you. How was your day?”

  “I bet you’re hungry,” Benjamin chimed in. “I’m starving. Can we make the potato latkes now?”

  “You’re starving?” Mom chuckled. “I didn’t think we were that late.” She handed Devorah her coat and glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. “It’s only 5:00. I’d like to rest a bit before starting the latkes. If you want to speed things up, you can peel the potatoes.”

  Benjamin returned to the table and opened his math book. “Devorah only wants to eat so she can open tonight’s Hanukkah present. That’s why she lit the candles before you got home.”

  Devorah glared at her brother.

  Mom frowned. “You lit the candles without us?”

  “You were late and it got dark.” Devorah grinned. “Benjamin didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “Don’t you shove that off on me!” Benjamin looked at his sister. “Lighting the candles was your idea!”

  Dad shook his head. “I suppose if you knew where your presents were hidden, you’d have opened them already, too!”

  Devorah’s face reddened as she and her brother exchanged glances.

  “Speaking of presents . . .” Benjamin smiled.

  Mom sighed. “Well, tonight you’ll have to wait even longer. Your grandparents are joining us for dinner. They’ll be here in a half hour or so.” Mom sank into her comfy chair.

  “Bubbe and Zayde are coming! Hooray!” cried Benjamin. “I sure hope they bring me the art set I asked for.”

  “And the telescope I want!” added Devorah.

  “Bubbe is bringing you both a very special gift this year.”

  “What is it?” Devorah and Benjamin shouted at the same time.

  “You’ll have to wait and see.” Mom closed her eyes. “But I guarantee you—it will be, to use your words, ‘awesome.’ ”

  Chapter 2

  The Gift

  When their grandparents arrived, there were lots of hugs from Zayde and smushes into Bubbe’s soft, round tummy.

  “We’re so glad you’re here!” said Benjamin. “I have a Hanukkah present for you. I painted it myself. I can give it to you now, if you want.”

  “What a great idea! Let’s exchange our gifts now.” Devorah walked over to her grandmother.

  Zayde patted the couch. “Buzz on over here, my little bumblebee.”

  Devorah snuggled next to him. She liked when he called her that, since her name, Devorah, meant “bee” in Hebrew.

  “Just this once, how would you like your gift before dinner?”

  Benjamin came over. “Really, Zayde? We can open our presents now?”

  Bubbe brought in an elegantly wrapped box. “One present to share,” she said.

  Devorah’s smile disappeared. The box was too small and too light to be a telescope. And a gift to share with her brother didn’t sound like fun at all. She took the box from Bubbe and held it for a long time.

  “Nu, so open it already and find out what’s inside,” said Zayde.

  Devorah slid the ribbon off the box, opened it, and took out a large, bubble-wrapped object.

  “What is it?” Benjamin asked.

  Devorah peeled off the bubble wrap.

  Benjamin wrinkled up his face. “What is this?”

  “It’s a dreidel,” said Bubbe. “Didn’t you learn to play the dreidel game in your Sunday school?”

  “I’ve seen lots of dreidels,” said Devorah. “And none of them have looked anything like this one.” She turned it over in her hands. For one thing, it was large for a dreidel. And it was lopsided, and speckled red and gray with fancy Hebrew letters.

  Devorah’s disappointment kept her from thanking her grandparents as she knew she should. “This has got to be the strangest dreidel I have ever seen. I’m sorry, Bubbe, I don’t mean to be rude, and it’s probably an old dreidel and special to you, but it sure is . . . not very pretty.”

  “It doesn’t have to be pretty to work,” Zayde told her. “Why don’t you sit on the floor together and give it a spin?”

  “You mean, you gave us a dreidel so we can play the game together? Like a family-time thing?” Benjamin laughed. “I have a dreidel that will work much better than this one.” He stood up. “Do you want me to get it?”

  Mom shook her head. “Let’s try this one. When your Uncle Robert and I were young, we were just like you, always in a hurry to get to the Hanukkah gifts. But then one night Bubbe insisted we get into the real spirit of Hanukkah. It’s not just about gifts. She took out this very same old dreidel. And as we played, the real meaning of Hanukkah surrounded us and . . .”

  “O-oh, I get it,” said Benjamin. “You played with this dreidel when you were our age. Now it’s our turn to carry on that tradition.” He plopped down on the floor. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  “But after we play the game, we can open our real presents, right?” Devorah joined her brother on the floor. She turned the dreidel slowly between her fingers, looking at the four Hebrew letters, one on each side. They had just play
ed the game in Sunday school. Each player had put a chocolate coin in the center of the table. When you spun the dreidel, the letter it landed on told you whether you’d won or lost your coins.

  “Where are the chocolate coins?” Benjamin licked his lips.

  Bubbe’s eyes twinkled. “You won’t need chocolate coins with this dreidel. It’s magic. Spin it and you’ll see what I mean.”

  Neither child noticed the grown-ups fade away as Devorah gave the funny-looking driedel a spin. “I barely spun it,” she whispered to her brother, “so it should drop quickly.”

  But instead of slowing, the top sped up.

  “What’s happening?” Benjamin cried. The dreidel spun faster and faster until the whole room whirled with it. He grabbed onto Devorah and shut his eyes.

  And then it stopped, just like that!

  Devorah shook her brother’s arm. “Benjamin, look!”

  Benjamin opened one eye. The dreidel had fallen on its side. A Hebrew letter glowed on its upper face.

  Devorah trembled as she stared at the letter.

  A Shin . . . a bad spin. In the dreidel game, it meant you lost something.

  Chapter 3

  Shin

  The children looked up from the dreidel. Their living room had disappeared, replaced by a raggedy old tent. “Where are we?” Devorah whispered.

  “That crazy dreidel must have put me to sleep,” Benjamin said, more to himself than out loud. “This is one bad dream!”

  “Well, if it’s a dream, I’m having the same one as you!” Devorah touched the furry animal skin they were sitting on. “Maybe if we spin the dreidel again, we’ll wake up.” She reached for the dreidel. It vanished right before her eyes.

  “Oh, no!” they both cried.

  “This dream is pretty weird!” Benjamin got up and turned around. “Look at my baggy pants and shirt.”

  Devorah stood up, too. She was wearing a white linen dress. She dusted herself off and sneezed.

  “Gesundheit!” said her brother. “I bet if we go outside, we’ll wake up and be back home in our living room.”

  He headed toward the tent flap. Devorah grabbed his arm. “Benjamin, I don’t think we’re dreaming.”

  “What do you mean? Of course we are.” He tried to shake free. “Or else it’s some kind of trick to teach us a lesson. Bubbe and Zayde are probably standing right outside this tent.”

  “You stay here. I’ll check.” Devorah let go of her brother’s arm and walked to the tent flaps. Her hand shook as she parted the flaps slightly. Slowly, she peeked through the small crack. “Oh, my!” she said with a gasp.

  “Wh-what’s out there?” asked her brother.

  “Benjamin, we’re not in Los Angeles any more.”

  He tiptoed to her side and looked out. “No way! Maybe the dreidel somehow brought us to a movie set in Hollywood?”

  Devorah shook her head. “Those stone and clay buildings look real. So does the dirt road, and this tent we’re in. Everything seems old. I mean really old, like hundreds—no, thousands!—of years old.”

  “That’s crazy!” shouted Benjamin. “How can that be?”

  “Look—there’s a Jewish building . . . a small temple, maybe.” Devorah pointed to a building with a large Star of David carved above the doorway. “The dreidel must have brought us to a Jewish town from long ago.”

  A crowd of townspeople, all dressed in linen, were gathered in front of the temple. A group of soldiers stood nearby. An man in a long, white robe pushed through the crowd. Even though he was very old, the people all turned to hear his words.

  “We have had enough of your laws.” He shook his wooden staff at the soldiers. “These are not our laws and we will no longer obey them!”

  Benjamin turned to his sister. “His words sound funny.”

  “I recognize that language from Sunday school. He’s speaking Hebrew,” explained Devorah.

  Benjamin listened carefully to what the old man was saying. “Yeah, you’re right. But how come I understand him? I don’t speak Hebrew.”

  “Me neither, at least not that well. But I understand him, too.” She put her finger to her lips. “Shh! I want to hear what he’s saying.”

  The old man’s piercing eyes searched the crowd. “You there, Ruben.” Everyone backed away from Ruben, who was holding a squealing pig and a long, sharp knife.

  The old man straightened his back and spoke to Ruben. “We are Jews. We will not sacrifice to the king’s gods. Release the pig!”

  Ruben refused. “The king has ordered us to sacrifice a pig, Mattisyahu. One of us must obey these soldiers or we will all suffer. I will be that someone!”

  The old man marched up to Ruben, raised his staff, and struck him. The young man crumpled to the ground. A murmur drifted through the crowd. A few heads turned toward the soldiers. The king’s guards were pointing at the fallen man and laughing. Then they turned and walked away.

  The old man addressed the townspeople. “We will not do as the Syrian king demands. If you agree with me, then join me. We will leave here and be free to follow our Jewish laws.” He turned and touched the shoulder of a nearby man. “Come, my son. Gather your family and what possessions you can carry. We must leave Modi’in immediately.”

  The crowd hurried to their homes. Everyone returned carrying bundles of clothing and food.

  Benjamin looked at Devorah. “What’s going on? What should we do?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s not safe here. The soldiers will get angry when everyone leaves. Since we’re dressed like the townspeople, we’d better go too. We need to find someone who can help us figure this out.” Devorah pointed to two children trailing behind the group. “This way,” she said, grabbing her brother’s hand. They raced toward the departing townspeople.

  Chapter 4

  Simon and Shoshana

  “We need to stay close to those kids,” Devorah whispered to Benjamin. He just stared at her.

  “What? Do you think we should do something else?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No . . . It’s . . . you’re speaking Hebrew!”

  “But you can understand me, right?”

  Her brother nodded.

  “Listen to yourself. You’re speaking Hebrew too. This must be part of the dreidel’s magic.” Devorah slowed as they caught up to a tall, skinny boy. “Why is everyone leaving?” she asked, panting.

  The boy glared at her. “I haven’t seen you before. Where are you from?” he demanded.

  “I’m Devorah and this is my brother, Benjamin. We just arrived. There were so many soldiers in your town, we got scared. We were afraid to stay in the town when we saw everyone leaving.”

  The boy eyed her suspiciously. “What town are you from?”

  Devorah tried to remember what the old man had said. Which city did he name? Should she name a city in Israel—if that’s even where they were?

  “We’re from Jerusalem,” said Benjamin.

  Devorah looked at him, then at the boy. Jerusalem must have worked. At least the boy had stopped glaring at them.

  “I am Shoshana and this is my brother, Simon,” said the girl. “Where are your parents? Shouldn’t they be traveling with you?”

  “You’re here without your parents, aren’t you?” Benjamin said. Shoshana didn’t answer but her eyes filled with tears. She hurried to catch up to her brother.

  “Why are you all running away from your homes?” Devorah asked Simon.

  “We have to leave Modi’in because of the soldiers.”

  Modi’in. That was what the old man had said. That town sounds familiar, thought Devorah.

  “We have always had kings ruling over us. But this new one, this Antiochus . . .” Simon spat out the name. “He is evil.”

  Devorah caught her breath. Antiochus? It couldn’t be. She glanced at her brother. His eyebrows were once again scrunched together. Was he thinking the same thing? Modi’in was the ancient town in the Hanukkah story. And Antiochus was the king who ruled over the town. Devorah remembered that, in the Hanukkah story, he’d made life so unbearable the townspeople had fled to the hills.

  “Antiochus has ordered his soldiers to kill anyone they find observing Jewish traditions,” added Shoshana. “That’s why Mattisyahu is leading us away. We want to practice our religion in peace.”