This is an illustration and poem that appeared on the cover of the December 4, 1931 edition of the children’s newspaper, Davar LeYeladim. The illustration, drawn by Nahum Gutman, depicts a fanciful Chanukah scene with a variety of modes of transportation created out of dreidels (Chanukah spinning tops). The caption, “To the Land of Israel,” tells us that this is a story of people coming to Israel. The illustration shows people traveling from rainy countries, shown on the right-hand side, to a country with a shining sun, the Land of Israel, on the left-hand size. A body of water is pictured at the bottom of the page with people traveling to Israel in dreidel boats of all sizes. On land, people are racing on dreidel horses and riding on a dreidel train. At the top of the page, flying dreidels are transporting people to Israel. The buildings and trees that dot the landscape are the palm trees typically found on the Israeli coast and the buildings of Jerusalem.
Beneath the image is a poem that supports the message of the picture. The poem, that is written in simple and short words, calls upon all the Jews to come to Israel, to work and rejoice. A dreidel (svivon in Hebrew) is a four-sided spinning top. Each side has a Hebrew letter – נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), ש (shin) – representing the words "נס גדול היה שם" – “a great miracle happened there .” In Israel, the letter ש (shin) is replaced with פ (pey ) to represent the word פה meaning “here,” meaning “a great miracle happened here.” Children traditionally spin the dreidel and receive or lose game pieces (typically chocolate coins, pennies, or raisins, etc.) according to the letter that is face up when the dreidel stops spinning. There are many stories related to the origin of the game: for example, one suggests that the game was developed by Jews who were learning Torah in secret during the time that the story of Chanukah took place. However, historians believe that the game of dreidels is probably derived from local games and became associated with the winter nights of Chanukah when the family has time to sit and play games.
This front cover was printed in 1931 at a time of instability and anti-Semitism in Europe and of the growing influence of the Zionist movement. The poem and the illustration are inviting people to leave Europe and to come on aliya to Israel.
Would You Like to Know More?
Nahum Gutman - The illustrator, Nahum Gutman, was born in Russia and moved to Israel with his family in 1905. In 1912, he studied at the Bezalel School of Art. He was the main illustrator of Davar Layeladim and wrote a famous Israeli children’s book called Path of the Orange Peels: Adventures in the Early Days of Tel Aviv. In 1978, Gutman won the Israel Prize for children’s literature.
Chanuka - Chanuka celebrates the rededication of the Temple by Judah the Maccabee and his army after their victory over the Greeks in 165 BCE. One of the well-known miracles of the Chanukah story is the small portion of oil that was able to light the Menorah in the Temple and burn for eight nights. Chanukah begins on 25 Kislev and is celebrated by lighting a Chanukiya for eight nights. It is also traditional to eat fried foods (to symbolise the oil) and play with spinning tops known as dreidles.
Davar LeYeladim - Davar LeYeladim, the magazine that printed this cartoon, can be seen to reflect the lives of children at the time. It printed nature stories, poetry, articles on science, nature, and geography by many well-known authors as well as jokes, crossword puzzles, and articles written by children.
