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The Dreidel


During the time of the Maccabees, Jews were imprisoned for the "crime" of studying Torah. While in jail, these Jews would gather together to play dreidel. Under the guise of idling away their time, they’d engage in Torah discussions and thus defy the enemies of Judaism.
 


Every dreidel has four sides with one Hebrew letter on each side. Each of these letters begins a word.  The four letters are:

 


Nun – the first letter of the word nes, which means "miracle"


  Gimmel – the first letter of gadol, which means "great"


  Hey – the first letter of haya, which means "was" 


  Shin – the first letter of sham, which means "there"
 


When taken together, these letters proclaim "A great miracle happened there."

 

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