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Dreidel Collection
Most people would be familiar with an inexpensive wooden or plastic toy
dreidel given to children at Channukah time for the customary spinning and
game playing. It never occurred to me until now that this small-scale
object could become the inspiration for a focused accumulation of Judaica,
and that is why I was enthusiastic to meet with Rabbis Patti and David
Kopstein when I heard about their dreidel collection. Over the past 20
years they have put together a substantial ensemble of dreidels in a variety
of materials ranging from modern metal sculpture to hand-blown glass, wood,
ceramic and silver objects, to name but a few in their ongoing collection.
Although the dreidel is traditionally a small-scale object, it is one that
is loaded with immense aesthetic and historic value, cultural significance
and endless possibilities for religious teaching.
For Rabbis Patti and David Kopstein, the spiritual leaders of Beit Shalom
Synagogue, the collection began as an anniversary present. Searching for a
gift that was small, memorable and also something that was Jewish, the
concept of the dreidel emerged to fulfill these criteria. Since Channukah
is a time of dedication and rededication and romantically linked to a
wedding anniversary, the dreidels? significance became increasingly
relevant. Now it is not only an anniversary present, as acquisitions also
come from friends and community members bearing gifts. It is a portable
object that can be purchased from almost anywhere in the world, and the
range of dreidels, coming from as far a field as New Zealand, Samoa, Venice,
California and Jerusalem, to name but a few sites of collection, reflects
the couple's joy of travel and gathering of memorabilia along the way.
Earlier this year I met with Rabbi Patti to view the collection, and she
passionately described the variations in style, decoration and medium,
showed me their favourite dreidels, the most exotic and unusual ones, and
told me about the circumstances of acquiring the objects.
All their dreidels are notably dreidels and not simply spinning tops.
Uniquely, the dreidel is a spinning top with four sides, each bearing a
different Hebrew letter, nun, gimmel, hey and shin. The letters around the
dreidel stand for the first letter of each word for Nes Gadol Haya Sham.
Many of their Israel dreidels have the letter peh in place of the letter
shin. The common shin stands for the word sham meaning "there" - a great
miracle happened there. "There" referring to Israel, by someone who is
outside of Israel. Peh stands for po, which means "here" - a great miracle
happened here. Such dreidels are made for use in Israel and are quite
collectible as they are not for export. Dreidels with the shin letter are
manufactured for world Jewry rather than a limited number that would be
produced for Israel.
I also learned more about the historical significance of this religious play
object. In Jewish history the dreidel is credited with having saved the
Jewish people. For instance, during Greco-Roman times when it was
prohibited for Jews to teach and study Torah, it was noted in historical
documents that a Torah teacher would sit on the ground with children and
play with the spinning top as if they were simply playing a game - a facade
for Torah lessons taking place.
The frivolity of game playing, the silliness of playing on the ground, the
lessons learned, the fun of winning, remembering the bravery of the
Maccabees - the dreidel in history contains a larger spiritual message
beyond mere game playing. It symbolizes over-coming mighty oppressors who
have forbidden us to continue with Judaism.
Rabbi Patti reminisces about the stories and the meanings associated with
each dreidel that has been collected. The objects are infused with the
romance of the story, the memories and the mental picture of where and how
they were attained, the process of acquisition, the stories about bargaining
in pawn-shops and markets in Jerusalem or who gave it to them and when.
Normally with museum-type objects, touching and handling would be
discouraged. However, these collectors encourage hands-on enjoyment as that
is recognized as the objects? reason for being. Rabbi Patti gave me
instructions for the dreidels: Play with them, give them a spin, and come up
with your own feelings. Hold them in your hands, feel their weight, see how
differently they feel, see how differently they spin, and enjoy their
workmanship.
The objects will shortly be exhibited in the Museums display cabinet at the
Adelaide Hebrew Congregation. Unfortunately I can't promote the same
generous spirit and encourage you to give them a spin. You are, however,
encouraged to put your nose up close to the display cabinet and view them
through the glass. At a later stage, the objects will also be displayed at
Beit Shalom.
Roslyn Sugarman, Curator Adelaide Jewish Museum
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