After the Greeks banned Torah study, they came to check on the Jews to make sure that they were complying with the decree. When the Greeks arrived, the Jews took out their dreidels (spinning tops) and began playing with them.
In truth though, the Greeks allowed Torah study for the purpose of an intellectual exercise, (devoid of any spiritual motivation,) so instead of playing with a dreidel, why did the Jews not continue learning and just pretend they were merely learning the Torah intellectually (rather than for spiritual fulfilment)? Furthermore, the Greeks knew that the Jews were a spiritual people – and if so, surely they did not believe that the Jews would genuinely be playing meaningless games like spinning a dreidel?
When the communists began to gain power they attempted to close down the yeshivas. There was a yeshiva directly opposite the communists building – becoming an obvious target, but the Rosh Yeshiva nevertheless instructed his students to continue learning, with even more zeal than usual. The communists indeed burst in and they saw the students learning with great zeal, the way only a yeshiva student does: some were standing; others were sitting deep in thought; others in group discussions; others in heated debates; others waving their thumbs; others shouting; others singing; others pacing back and forth – quite an exhibit for a person who has never witnessed such a thing before! The communists took one look and concluded that there was no learning going on at the yeshiva, and on the contrary: it must have been a mad house – and so they left!
(Unfortunately, two of the students were afraid to learn in the study hall, and instead hid in their room. They were caught by the communists and suspected of learning Torah {!} and were subsequently killed.)
Why did the spiritually inclined Torah scholars choose playing dreidel to trick the Greeks, and how did the Greeks fall for this ploy? To an outsider, when two people are studying Torah with their whole being, it looks just like a very involved game of spinning the dreidel, or in other words like a mad house!
Perhaps it is not just from an outsider’s perspective – as we have been taught: if a person experiences the sweetness of the Torah, he would go crazy after it! [1]
This also explains why the Jews chose to play dreidel rather than study Torah intellectually: they were concerned that it might significantly whet their appetite for the sweetness of the Torah and that they might subsequently get carried away and not be able to resist learning with a spiritual motivation!
Have a crazy Chanukah!
Dan.
Additional sources:
[1] Ohr haChaim, Devarim 26:8
