Ask any Briton to define the word “dray” and most probably you will be told that a “dray” is a cart or truck used for delivering heavy loads. Mention the word “dray” to any anglophonic Jew, particularly at this time of year, and there might be a need for clarification. “As in dreidel?” you will be asked. The origins of the dreidel are open to speculation. Some maintain it hearkens back to the ancient Greeks while others claim it’s a spinoff of a teetotum that emerged centuries ago in Germany for gambling purposes. One thing is for certain: Dreidel is to Chanukah what searching for the Afikomen is to the seder night. Few realize, however, that “dreidel” is a Yiddish word and a diminutive at that! A dreidel is a Yiddish spin top, with dray being the Yiddish word for turn or spin. A dreidel is a small “dray” or spin/turn. With this in mind, I present you with five words akin to dreidel, in that each has “dray” as its root.
Tzehdrayt (a nutcase). Tzehdrayt is a state of being. If you know that a person is tzehdrayt, then you want to keep your distance. If being tzehdrayt weren’t bad enough, the nut case is often referred to as being in gahntzen tzehdrayt (a complete nutcase). Tzehdrayt is also gender friendly. Tzehdraytehr modifies a masculine noun: Dehr tzehdraytehr hotzmach (the lunatic jokester) and dee tzedtrayteh yente (the lunatic yente or gossipmonger). Decades ago, a psychiatrist came to speak to our Practical Rabbinics class. After presenting a case, the psychiatrist asked for our input. Upon hearing three or four “diagnoses” from the students, the psychiatrist told us that professionally speaking, the patient is tzehdrayt.
Fahrdrayen dem kop (drive someone crazy/lit. to spin the head). Thankfully, being tzehdrayt is not contagious. Other than genetics, it cannot be passed along to others. It can, however, be inflicted upon others. Symptoms usually appear in the form of a headache after having to listen to a tzehdraytehr carry on for more than five minutes. For the sake of sanity, I don’t see it as a sin to tell a lie and cut the conversation short by saying to the tzehdraytehr that you have an important call coming in and that you have to go.
Ibbehrgehdrayt (overturned, rolled over). Despite the reckless driving habits of far too many on the N.J. Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, as well as other interstates and highways, I marvel at the rarity of seeing vehicles ibbehrgehdrayt off on the side of the road. I could be wrong, but I can’t help but feel that, when I was a child, there seem to have been far more instances of cars that were ibbehrgehdrayt or coming to rest on their roofs. I don’t give credit to better drivers. I give credit to better engineered vehicles that are less likely to dray zich ibbehr (flip themselves over).
Drayteer (revolving door). Between you, me and the lamppost, there were no drayteern (plural) in the shtetl of our eastern European forebears; revolving pogroms at times, yes! (Excuse my cynicism). I can’t help but feel that upon seeing their first drayteer, last-century immigrants to this country were left speechless. Other than the drayteer jamming and trapping the user in a relatively small space, the only other drawback of a drayteer is that it prevents old-school gentlemen from holding the door open for others.
Drayteesh (lazy Susan). While it cannot be substantiated, story has it that Thomas Jefferson, the third president of this country, invented a revolving table for his daughter Susan. Regardless of its origin, a lazy Susan saves the diner from getting up from his seat or from resorting to a boardinghouse reach for a helping of food. Whether or not a drayteesh existed in the homes of our eastern European ancestors, I have no way of knowing. Based on the stories that have been handed down to us, there doesn’t seem to have been a variety of food to begin with to necessitate a drayteesh.
Unfortunately, I have no advice to give concerning spinning a dreidel. I can, however, offer a word to the wise for those hosting Chanukah parties: Consider using a drayteesh when offering various creative toppings for the latkes. If you plan on inviting many guests, you might want to host an open house and adopt a drayteer approach. Should it happen that one or more of your guests is a fresser (a voracious eater who stacks his plate high with latkes), bear in mind that, like buttered bread, latkes tend to fall ibbehrgehdrayt on the carpet, thereby creating quite a mess. And if you absolutely must invite a tzehdrayteh friend or relative, try to keep him/her extremely occupied so that there is the least likelihood of him/her beginning to fahrdray dem kop of one of your other guests.
Rabbi Shawn Zell has recently returned to New Jersey, after serving at a pulpit in Dallas. He possesses certification in teaching Yiddish. Rabbi Zell is the author of three books.
