was created especially for

Michael Jeremy Smith

at the age of 8

With love from,

Mom and Dad

November 9, 2001

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Throughout Fort Wayne, children gazed out of their windows on the crisp

winter day and watched the sun set. They anxiously awaited the

disappearance of the last little bit of light, for that would mark the

start of a very special holiday -- the eight-day festival of Hanukkah.

Michael Jeremy Smith was so excited. Larry, Wayne and Bob would be there to

help light the menorah and open the Hanukkah gifts.

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Since the guests had not arrived yet, Mike practiced with the dreidel, a

four-sided top used in a special Hanukkah game. Round and round the

dreidel spun, and each time it landed with a different one of its Hebrew

letters -- nun, gimel, hay, and shin -- showing.

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"Ouch!" shouted the dreidel. "I landed hard that time. Mike, do you

think we could take a little break? I'm getting kind of dizzy, and I don't

want to be pooped out when everyone gets here."

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Mike could hardly believe his ears! "Wait a minute! Whoever heard of a

talking dreidel?" asked Mike. "Well, most dreidels can't talk, but I'm very

special," the top said, with a little chuckle. "I'm Mac, the magic dreidel,

and I'm not just a toy. I'm here for a very special reason. Let me ask you a

question. What do you like best about Hanukkah?" Mike had to think for only

a second.

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"Well, Mac, I like lighting the candles on the menorah each night and eating

all of that good Hanukkah food. However, I think that I like the gifts

the very best," answered Mike. "Those are a very important part of the

holiday," said Mac, "but that's not enough, Mike. I've come here to teach

you the meaning of Hanukkah."

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With that, the dreidel suddenly jumped up and began to spin faster and faster.

As he whirled, twirled, and laughed merrily, the room was bathed in a soft,

blue light. Mike was fascinated, for suddenly, pictures like a movie or

television show appeared and hung in mid-air.

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"Whew! Quite a workout," said Mac, who had stopped spinning. "Now, Mike

Smith, we're going to talk about how Hanukkah began and why we celebrate it

today. Then, I want you to share the story later with Larry, Wayne and

Bob." Mike gazed intently at the scene before him as Mac began his tale.

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"Mike, two thousand years ago, in the land we know as Israel, wicked King

Antiochus ruled. He did not like the way that the Jewish people worshipped

only one God, for he worshipped many. The Jews were proud and refused to

 bend to the king's will. So the king robbed and damaged the beautiful temple

 in Jerusalem and killed many of the Jews."

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"One day, Mike, the king's men insisted that an old man named Mattathias

worship a statue of a Greek god. Mattathias became angry and refused.

Then he, his five sons, and their followers ran into the hills and formed

an army. Mattathias's family became known as the Maccabees, a word which

means 'hammer.' When Mattathias died, his son, Judah Maccabee became the

leader of the band of the Jews."

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Mike listened and watched as the scene before his eyes shifted to the hills of

Judea. "They were a small band, but the Maccabees and their followers

believed strongly in their cause and knew the hills of Judea well. Because

of this, they were able to defeat the armies of the wicked king. Antiochus

was driven out of Judea, and Judah Maccabee led his followers out of the hills."

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"But all was not well. The Jews had to repair the temple in Jerusalem. Alas,

Mike, there was only enough oil to keep the sacred eternal light burning for

one day. Then, the miracle of Hanukkah occurred. That little bit of oil kept

the light burning not for one day, but for eight."

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"Mike, this is the reason that we celebrate Hanukkah for eight days.

We light a candle each night to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah.

It's a story that you should think about when you, along with Larry,

Wayne and Bob, are eating potato latkes tonight, opening gifts, and

spinning me in circles."

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The pictures that had danced before Mike slowly began to fade. Soon, all

in the living room was just as it had been before. Mike looked down at the

floor, and there lay Mac. Only now, he wasn't talking. In fact, he looked

just like an ordinary dreidel. "Wow!" thought Mike. "Did that really

happen? Was it just a dream? Was this really a magic dreidel?"

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Of course it was! For Mac had given Mike the best holiday gift of all: a

lesson about the true meaning of Hanukkah. Mike Smith would always

remember this. He would be sure to share the story

with Larry, Wayne and Bob.

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Mike, here some Hanukkah words you should remember. The Maccabees

(MAH-cuh-bees) -- The brave band of Jews who fought the wicked king's

armies from the hills of Judea. Their first leader was Mattathias, and later

they were led by his son, Judah Maccabee. Antiochus (an-tee-AH-kus)

-- was the wicked king who robbed and pillaged the temple and made life

miserable for the Jews. The menorah (meh-NOHR-uh) -- is the eight-stemmed

candelabra that holds the Hanukkah candles. We light a candle each night

to commemorate the miracle of Hanukkah. The dreidel (DRAY-duhl)is

the four-sided top used in traditional Hanukkah games.

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Mike, you can have fun playing the dreidel game at Hanukkah. You need a

dreidel and some raisins equally divided among the players. Each person

takes five raisins from his or her pile and puts them into the main pile in the

center. Then, each person takes a turn spinning the dreidel. When it stops

spinning and the letter "nun" is facing up, the player does nothing. "Hay"

means that the player gets half of the main pile. "Shin" means that you must

put half of your raisins into the main pile. For "gimel," a player takes all

of the raisins in the main pile. The Hebrew letters on the dreidel stand for

"Nes gadol hayah sham," which means "A great miracle happened there" -- a

fitting message for Hanukkah.

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Mike Smith

In THE MAGIC DREIDEL, did you learn

these new vocabulary words?

ayh ___________________

nhis __________________

legim _________________

unn ___________________

eriddle _______________

akahnukh ______________

hamenor _______________

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