Sitting by the Candles
31. Many people stay by the candles and sing zemiros and praises for some time after lighting the candles and saying “Haneiros Halalu.” Chassidim certainly do this. Even people without Chassidishe minhagim should rejoice and relate Hashem’s praises. The author of the Chavos Yair writes: “It seems to me that the main mitzvah is that the one who lights the menorah should remain by the candles for a half hour to see them and rejoice over them since they also commemorate the candles people joyously lit after the miracle. It says in Al Hanisim, ‘They lit candles in Your holy courtyards...’ In other words, after the Chanukah miracle, the people were so jubilant that they lit candles in their courtyards out of joy. The candles we light commemorate this joy; thus, it is not enough for one to merely light and then go somewhere else” (מקור חיים, קיצור הלכות סי' תרע"ב ס"ב, שו"ת שב יעק ב סי' כ"ב ). Certainly one with small children should recount the great miracle to them and imbue them with emunah (תשוה"נ ח"א סי' ש צ"ו ).
32. Yeshiva bochurim, who do not have children, should also stay by the candles for some time to praise and thank Hashem. Afterward, they should return to the beis medrash and learn more Torah since these days are especially suited to learning tirelessly (של"ה סוף עניני תפילה, קדושת לוי דרושים לחנוכה ד"ה ידוע, מנהגי חת"ס פ"ט אות א'). Among our many sins, most people are mevateil Torah on Chanukah.
Dreidel
33. There is a minhag for children to play dreidel on Chanukah. Dreidels have four sides with a nun, gimmel, hei, and shin respectively, which stands for “neis gadol hayah sham” [“a great miracle happened there”]. They also have much hidden meaning (בני יששכר מאמר ב’ אות כ"ה ). Many gedolim played with them a bit on Chanukah to fulfill a minhag Yisroel (מנהגים לחת"ס פ"ה ).
34. Playing dreidel is not "mesacheik bekuvia" [lit. playing with dice – a form of gambling] since the stakes are very low. Also, very often people divide up the winnings equally after the game. Minhag Yisroel is Torah.
35. "Drunken dreidel." One may not play "drunken dreidel." Doing so is engaging in levity, spending time in the company of scoffers [מושב לצים ], and being frivolous during holy, lofty days. Yeshiva bochurim should flee from this as they would from fire.
Cards
36. Among our many sins, some people play cards instead of singing praises to Hashem for the miracles He performed for us. The sefarim hakedoshim vehemently object to this. One who knows what is good for himself will distance himself from such activities (ביה"ל סי' תר"ע ד"ה ונוהגין ). If these games involve significant sums of money, one who plays them violates the issur of mesacheik bekuvia and is potentially unfit to be a witness.
