LL-L "Tradition" 2009.12.18 (03) [EN]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 18 December 2009 - Volume 03
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From: Tom Mc Rae <thomas.mcrae at bigpond.com>
Subject: LL-L Traditions

Humorous portion of the Hannukah message I received below got me thinking.
Interestingly enough playing  a gambling game called PUT AND TAKE was common
practice in Scotland even when gambling was illegal.
Even grandparents spoke about it.
Tiny brass tops of dreidel form with several sides were sold in newsagents.
Instead of Hebrew characters they had stuff like
PUT ONE, TAKE TWO, PUT ALL, etc on the sides. I am convinced they were
adapted form the dreidel which I never encountered in Scotland
where Jewish folks were a very small minority.

Begin forwarded message:

The traditional Chaaunkah toy is a dreidel, a kind of top, which is a
misnomer, 'cause when you spin it, it always lands on its side, never on its
top. Little known "fact": When Cole Porter wrote, "You're the Tops," he was
attending a Chanukah party.

The Hebrew letters on the dreidel stand for the words Nays Gawdawl Hawyaw
Shawm, or in English, Made in Japan.

No, actually the words mean, "A great miracle was there." The miracle is
that there are any new customers left to buy more dreidels in each
successive year.

The dreidel game is a gambling gmae--you put in or take out a certain amount
of money from the pot according to which letter comes up when you spin the
dreidel. (Don't look for the joke--that part was true.) This is how Jewish
people teach their kids to count. (THAT was the punchline.)


 Best Regards
Tom Mc Rae
Brisbane Australia
An honest man's the noblest work of God (Robert Burns)

•

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