A Dreidel is a spinning top, with four sides, each marked with a different Hebrew letter (nun, gimel, hay and shin). The custom of playing dreidel on Hanukkah is based on a legend that, during the time of the Maccabees, when Jewish children were forbidden from studying Torah, they would defy the decree and study anyway. When a Greek official would come close they would put away their books and take out spinning tops, claiming they were just playing games. The letters on the dreidel are the first letters in a Hebrew phrase that means “A Great Miracle Happened There” Continue reading at My Jewish Learning
I love your Hanukkah message and thought I would share one personal story with you. I recently visited Israel and spent one morning at a school in Atlanta’s sister city making dreidels with the students. In Israel, the letters are different because the message is “A Great Miracle Happened Here” (instead of “There”). I made a dreidel for my student that said “Here” and she made one for me that said “There”. Fun fact for the day!!