Page 381 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Utilitarian objects

AR turned a thin curved branch into an old-style long-stem
Dutch pipe (or is it the liulkey his teacher Reb Hirshely smoked,
described in the narrative as long and flexible?); the form
probably was suggested by the wood. The long bowl has a foot
for resting on the table during extended smoking sessions. AR
incised and stained a section of the stem to imitate joined
sections. It appears to have no function beyond the decorative:
like the fruit, its raison d’être may simply have been the pleasure
in copying some familiar object.

116 Three dreidels
Wood
1.5” x .75” (largest); 1.38” x .75” (smallest)
Inscriptions: HNKH (Hebrew, on sides of one); NGHS
(Hebrew, on sides of another)

117 Two dreidels
Lead
Each 1.625” x .875”

Few of the Hanukah dreidels made by AR for his grandchildren
have survived. The original NGHS acronym, of shtetl origin,
stood for “take-give-half-put” in Yiddish, words relating to the
game played with the top. Those letters were also given a
Zionist interpretation in Hebrew, the acronym for “a great
miracle happened there.” Later, in Israel, “there” was changed
to “here,” but AR was probably unaware of that change in final
letter. His use of the four letters comprising Hanukah on one
of the dreidels appears to be his own innovation. A traditional
old-country Hanukah activity was pouring molten lead into
molds to form dreidels. In this case, AR had a factory-made
model, which survives. His leaden tops are rough and devoid
of inscription, but functional.

118 Five gragers
Wood
7.25” x 6.25” (largest)

377