A Great Miracle Happened There/Here

Color me Zionist, but I'm struck every year by the fact that dreidels home in Israel are different from dreidels here in the diaspora (galut).  Dreidels you buy in the US will have the four characters: nun(נ), gimel (ג), hei (ה), and shin (ש), but those in Israel will have the four characters nun(נ), gimel (ג), hei (ה), and, and pe (פ).  That's because in the diaspora, the four letters stand for "nes gadol hayah sham" - "a great miracle/sign happened there," but in Israel the letters stand for "nes gadol haya po" - "a great miracle happened here."

Also, let me point out that the particular miracle/sign in question doesn't rate very high on the spectacularism scale.  The lamps burned much longer than possible, and nobody could explain why.  No parting seas, no water from a rock, no array of plagues, not even a victorious war against all odds.  Yes, the Maccabees were victorious against overwhelming odds at the time, but we really emphasize the miracle of the lights to a greater extent.

Add to that Beit Hillel's view that we increase in matters of holiness, and Chanukkah - though a minor holiday in the Hebrew calendar - becomes something we observe in the spirit of humble optimism.  We light the candles after dark and put them in a public spot, announcing to the world that here lives a Jewish family.  If we follow the Ashkenazi tradition, we'll even announce how many family members we have.  In other times, this would be asking for trouble, but most places in the world it's not a concern.

Chanukkah Sameach!

Comments

[Y.]

Yes, the Maccabees were victorious against overwhelming odds at the time, but we really emphasize the miracle of the lights to a greater extent

Not necessarily ... see the text of "al ha-nisim" itself.

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