In the rich tradition that we share as Jews, almost every custom we have has great meaning and purpose behind it.  This is certainly the case with respect to the beloved game of dreidel which is played on Chanukah.  If you ask any child with a Jewish education:  “Why do we play dreidel on Chanukah?”  Invariably, the short answer will be, “Because that’s what the Maccabees did!”  The full answer, however, is truly a testament to the tenacity and courage of the Jewish people, who, as we’ll see, went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that their beloved holy Torah would not be forgotten. First, however, a brief review of a little history is in order.
   
    In the time of the second Beit Hamikdash, when the story of Chanukah took place, all Torah learning was done by heart. The Torah Sh’B’al Peh, the Oral Law, was totally learned and handed down from teacher to student without benefit of written texts.  There were no seforim or books to refer to.  Instead, students would gather in groups to help each other remember and review various halachot.
   
    When the Greeks came to Eretz Yisrael, they realized that it would not be possible to conquer and Hellenize this nation while it maintained its great attachment to, and love of, the Torah.  They, therefore, came up with various decrees to break the heart and soul of the Jewish people, to destroy its bond with the Torah.  First and foremost on their agenda was to disrupt the learning of Torah.  They realized that these groups of students that gathered together to learn Torah were the key.  Hence, these groups were banned from meeting under penalty of death.
   
    The rabbis and their students were undeterred.  They bravely taught and learned Torah despite the decree.  The teachers told their students to have a dreidel ready to show their enemies in the event they were apprehended and questioned.   They instructed them to tell the Greek officers, “See, we’re not learning Torah at all!  We’re merely playing a lively game of dreidel!”  Miraculously, this ploy worked and enabled the Torah to be taught, learned and transmitted to future generations instead of being forgotten.  Is it any wonder that the dreidel, the symbol of this great miracle, has stayed with us throughout the generations?
   
    In addition to the historical significance of the dreidel described above, the Jewish people have also embraced the dreidel for the lessons that it imparts.  For instance, the sefer Tamei Minhagim explains that the Chanukah dreidel and the gragger of Purim have something in common - they both are spun. He notes that, although both are spun, they are spun differently.  We spin the dreidel from the top while the gragger is spun from the bottom. This, the Tamei Minhagim says, symbolizes the difference in the way God performed the miracles that we celebrate on each of these days.
   
    On Chanukah, where Bnei Yisrael were threatened with spiritual extinction, God miraculously intervened, even though Bnei Yisrael did not cry out to Him and did not do teshuva.  Rather, God, in His great mercy, orchestrated the miracle by putting the idea into the hearts of some of the strongest Jewish warriors that they should rebel and go to war against the Greeks. This type of divine intervention, without Bnei Yisrael’s entreaty, is symbolized by the spinning of the dreidel from the top.
   
    Contrast this with Purim, where Bnei Yisrael were threatened with actual physical extinction.  Here, they did cry out to God, they did fast and they did do teshuva.  It was only after this spiritual awakening on the part of the Jewish people that God then performed the miracle and saved them.  This spiritual awakening of Bnei Yisrael down here, in this world, is symbolized by the spinning the gragger from the bottom.
   
    Whether from the historical perspective or from an educational perspective, the dreidel remains one of Judaism’s lasting symbols.  Far from being an object of mere child’s play, we’ve seen that it is, in reality, a symbol of great Jewish pride and tenacity.  Although the dreidel will always remind us of the glories of our peoples past, perhaps its most important function will always be to help us acknowledge the One who’s always been the guarantor of our people’s future.