The Secret of the Dreidel

Based on a shiur from Harav Yussie Zakutinsky shlita, Morah D’asra, K’hal Mevakshei Hashem

Every little thing that Klal Yisroel does holds a deeper message. Small practices or things that we have accepted to do, even when not brought in halacha, are not random or coincidental. This idea plays out on Chanukah as it relates to the dreidel. The concept of playing dreidel on Chanukah has been around for thousands of years. What is the secret of the dreidel? 

The Gemarah in Pesachim tells a story about Rav Yosef, who had a miraculous recovery after nearly dying of an illness. He told his father that in this near-death experience, he got a glimpse of the upper world, and what he saw was “Elyonim l’mata v’tachtonim l’maala:” the ones that were considered exalted (in our world) were considered to be lowly (in Heaven), and the ones that were considered to be lowly down here were considered to be exalted above.

To gain insight into the message of this gemara, let us ask a question. Who is greater, a malach or a Yid? Angels were created to be spiritual, and it is natural and obvious for them to cling to Hashem. Although Hashem’s “obvious” presence is in the Heavens, alongside the angels, the Jewish soul was custom-designed to fulfill Hashem’s deeper desire, which is to have a ‘place of residence’ in the lower worlds. Only we have the capacity to welcome Hashem into our world and to serve Him from the lower worlds. The concept of a Yid teaches us that even though it would seem obvious that the holy and exalted malachim, who live in a world of pure spirituality, are on a higher level than a human being, the reality is that: “Elyonim l’mata v’tachtonim l’maala.” The Yid is mamash the highest!

This idea is actually at the core of the miraculous Chanukah story. The Greek mentality was that everything can be understood through observation, intellect, and science. Central to their philosophy was the belief that “what you see is what you get.” The Yidden know that this is rarely the case. 

That is why the Greeks had such a huge problem with the holy Beis Hamikdash. The Beis Hamikdash is the clearest evidence of Hashem’s desire to reside in the lower world and his joy in being served by humans even though we are not purely spiritual beings. There a Yid can elevate everything above its physicality by taking the most physical things — animals — and using them to achieve a spiritual connection with Hashem. 

This battle of Jewish vs. Greek philosophies is revealed by Kabbalah to be central to the month of Kislev. In the world of Kabbalah, this month is represented by the Hebrew letter samach (“ס”), which is shaped like a circle. A circle represents that there is no clear up and down: everything is equal. The Yevanim, on the other hand, are represented in Hebrew using three letters — “ןוי” — all of which are straight lines with a clear top and bottom, representing the Greek mentality of “what you see is what you get.” 

With these concepts in mind, we can reexamine the idea of the dreidel. A dreidel is square, with four equal sides, each side having a letter on it. Some letters represent “elyonim,” such as the gimmel and the heh, and some represent “tachtonim,” the nun and the shin. The squared dreidel — with sides that are “better” and sides that are “worse” — represents the Greek mentality (better is better, worse is worse, what you see is what you get). But then you give the dreidel a spin, and in one moment all of the seemingly well-defined sides blend together. Suddenly the spinning dreidel takes on the appearance of a circle. The gimmel, heh, nun, and shin are now all one, and the lesson we learn is “Elyonim l’mata v’tachtonim l’maala.”

Spinning the dreidel reveals to us an additional hidden light of Chanukah, which says that the more ‘tachton’ that you are, the lower you feel, the more darkness and craziness you experience in your personal life, the more the Shechina is primarily and specifically dwelling within you. The deeper message therefore is: “Elyonim l’mata v’tachtonim l’maala.” This demonstrates that — unlike conventional/Greek wisdom would suggest — the Ribbono Shel Olam is closer to you than to anyone or anything else!