The Brilliant Nights Collection takes the symbols of the festival — the menorah, the
dreidel, the Star of David, the Lion of Judah, the olive branch — and weaves them
through every tile in the set. Nothing sits on top as decoration. The story runs all the way
through.
T H E D E S I G N
Read the tiles.
Every suit tells a piece of the story.
B AM S Stars of David
The Magen David — the six-pointed Star of David, the most recognizable symbol
of Jewish identity. Stars alternate blue and gold across the suit: night sky and
candle flame, the two halves of the festival.
D O T S Branches of the olive
The tree whose oil burned for eight nights, and the branch carried by the dove on
the One Dot. Tradition meets text: the bamboo of mahjong becomes the olive of
Jerusalem, and the One opens with the dove of peace.
C R A C K S Dreidels & the 萬
Nine dreidels for the spinning game played on Hanukkah nights — red lacquer with
the Hebrew numerals beside the traditional Chinese 萬 character. Past and
present, side by side on the same tile.
W I N D S The four sides
North, East, West, South — the four sides of the dreidel, arranged in playing order
from highest to lowest: Gimel (take all), Hey (take half), Nun (nothing), Shin (put
one in). The four directions of the table become the four outcomes of the spinning
top, each on a field of stars.
D R A G O N S Lion, bear, and Torah
Three dragons, three figures of Hanukkah. The red dragon as the Lion of Judah
— symbol of the tribe and of the Maccabees whose victory the festival
commemorates. The green dragon as the Hanukkah Bear — the beloved
children's-book guest who turns up at the door looking for latkes, stays for
dreidel, and leaves with a present. And the white dragon as the Torah scroll itself
— the foundational text of Jewish tradition.
F L OW E R S Eight menorahs
Eight menorahs for the eight nights of the festival — each one a different design,
framed by the painted folk-art floral borders of the Jewish diaspora.
J O K E R S The hamsa
The hand-shaped amulet of protection, ancient across the Jewish, Arab, and
Berber worlds — sitting in the wildest position on the board.
B R I L L I A N T N I G H T S
Light the candles.
We built Brilliant Nights for the customer who lights candles in their window every
December. The one with menorahs from three generations on the same
sideboard. The one who teaches their grandkids the dreidel song.
Give them a set worth telling a story about.
