This article refers to the card game; for the prayer note see Kvitel

Kvitel

Kvitel refers to a practice developed by Hasidic Judaism in which a Hasid writes a note with a petitionary prayer and gives it to a Rebbe in order to receive the latter's blessing...

.

Kvitlech is a game similar to blackjack

Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...

 played in some Jewish homes during the Hanukkah

Hanukkah

Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...

 season. Hanukkah card playing was a traditional cover for Torah study

Torah study

Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...

, which had been outlawed for Jews by a Syrian-Greek

Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

 king in the 2nd century BCE (presumably Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....

).

The original kvitlech deck consisted of 31 numbered cards, artistically colored, representing the 31 kings against whom the Israelites fought under Joshua

Joshua

Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...

, a biblical prelude to the Maccabean victory.

External links

• Rules of Quitlok as given by John McLeod