Dreidl: Since You Asked...

I was asked over the weekend what the "real" origin of the dreidl or sevivon is.  Courtesy of my teacher Rabbi David Golinkin:  Dreidl is a Jewish/Hebrew adaptation of a medieval European game.  Read his full story here at myjewishlearning.com.  To me, it's a small example of one of the themes of Chanuka since the Greeks: how Jews have responded to the wider culture around us.  It's not only what has affected or shaped us from the outside, like celebrating around the winter solstice or spinning tops.  It's also how Jews have layered our own unique legacy over what has come in -- like running the techniques of Greek philosophy through the Torah and creating Talmud and midrash!  When it come to Chanuka, the medium (the story, the rituals) really is the message.