Gold, chocolate gelt glistened as students played a game of dreidel at the Jewish Club’s lunchtime Hanukkah celebration on Thursday, Dec. 15.

Open to all students, the party offered free food and games. According to senior club president Talya Mizrahi, students at this cultural event enjoyed kosher latkes donated by Trader Joe’s, and Souvganiot, Hebrew for jelly-filled donuts. At the party, students played dreidel, socialized and sang songs around a menorah.

"It brings Jews together to talk, hang out, and eat," freshman Daniella Mizrahi, sister of Talya Mizrahi said.

This Friday, Dec. 16, students can learn more about Hanukkah at the club’s booth at Paly’s Winter Festival.

"I think that people have the misconception that [Hanukkah] is all about presents," Talya Mizrahi said. "There’s a whole story that I want people to find out about."

The club’s table at the Winter Festival will display a menorah and have fliers explaining the story of Hanukkah, as well as have free latkes and foil-wrapped gold coins for students.

Though the club celebrates only the cultural aspects of Jewish holidays, to honor the separation of church and state, according to Talya Mizrahi, students join the club for a variety of reasons.

"The club is a good opportunity for people who are Jewish to hang out," senior member Elizabet Warshaw-Vickery said. "We’re not focusing on the religious aspect. We’re focusing on the cultural aspect."

The club offers students a chance to meet others whom they might not otherwise meet, based on what they have in common, Talya Mizrahi said.

"People just like it [the club] because they have something in common with everyone," Talya Mizrahi said.

"Being Jewish is a big part of my heritage, who I am, and what I’ve grown up with," Daniella Mizrahi said.

Although Hanukkah does not start until sundown on Dec. 25, the club decided to host a party in keeping with its club tradition of celebrating Jewish holidays, Talya Mizrahi said. Last year, instead of having a party, the club set up two tables on the Paly Quad for Hanukkah. At one table, students competed in a dreidel game contest, with the winner receiving a gift certificate to Stanford Shopping Center. At the second, club members sold latkes, donuts, and cookies to raise money for the club.

Past club activities have also included a bowling party, cultural celebrations for Passover and Purim, and a speaker from Stanford Hillel who talked to members about continuing Judaism in college.

Started two and a half years ago by Talya Mizrahi, Paly’s Jewish Club meets Thursdays at lunch in room 205. For the weeks following winter break, Talya Mizrahi hopes to show a Jewish-themed movie at lunch.

Though the club is small in size, members hope the club’s membership will grow.

"[People should join] because the more people that come and the more ideas we get, the better the club can get," freshman member Sarah Stone said.