Temple
Emanuel World Record for 541 Dreidels
Spinning Simultaneously Is Still Standing
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Miami Attempt at 613 Dreidels Draws Smaller Crowd
Temple Emanuel's world-record breaking dreidel event still holds the unofficial world's record, despite a dramatic Hanukkah eve attempt to wrest the record from our grasp.
Temple Emanuel in Cherry Hill, N.J., the largest Reform synagogue in New Jersey, broke the world’s record for dreidel spinning, with 541 dreidels spun simultaneously for at least ten seconds. The world's record was broken on December 18, 2005, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
An attempt by Beth Ahm Israel, a synagogue in Cooper City, Florida, to better Temple Emanuel's world record, was held at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie, Florida, a suburb of Miami. The effort fell far short, according to the Miami Herald.
"Although the Spin in the Gym failed to trump the University of Maryland's record set in 2000 by more than 500 spinners, the event raised $5,000 for Beth Ahm Israel, a conservative congregation in Cooper City," the Herald wrote.
The shortfall in the Miami attempt was also confirmed by the Gainesville (FL) Sun. The Sun said only 138 dreidels were spun simultaneously.
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Rabbi Jerome P. David hosts a crowd of nearly 600 participants in the world's record-breaking dreidel spin event at Temple Emanuel on Sunday, December 18.
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| A portion of the crowd that gathered to help break the world's record for simultaneous dreidel spinning. |  |
According to the Guinness Book of World’s Records, the previous world’s record of 535 people simultaneously spinning dreidels was set by University of Maryland Hillel in 1999. Temple Emanuel’s dreidel spin record involved 578 participants, including – in an ecumenical demonstration of interfaith cooperation -- a contingent of students from Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, a private Catholic school in Pennsauken.
“We are absolutely thrilled that we’ve broken the world’s record for dreidel spinning,” said Rabbi Debbie Cohen, director of life long learning at the synagogue and organizer of the world record dreidel spin. “More importantly, we gave members of our temple and the surrounding community an exciting, fun opportunity to come together in a playful way and get to know our synagogue a little better.”
The dreidel spin world record is subject to acceptance by the Guinness editors. The final count was supervised by Harry Platt, a councilman and former mayor of Voorhees, and Steven Burkett, a member of M’kor Shalom Synagogue in Cherry Hill and immediate past president of the regional council of the Union for Reform Judaism. Assisting Rabbi Cohen with the event was Temple Emanuel Board Member Jessica Manelis.
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Waiting for the results -- Rabbi David provides moral support to event chairs Rabbi Cohen and Jessica Manelis, standing, while Lisa Soler helps tally the successful dreidel spins. |
Hear an audio report on the world's record spin here.
More photos from the world record dreidel spin are here.
Extensive Media Coverage of the World Record Attempt
News media coverage of the world's record attempt was extensive. Philadelphia's NBC10 and 6ABC TV stations attended, and photographers from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Burlington County Times, and South Jersey Courier-Post were also present.
Publicity leading up to this weekend included Rabbi Cohen being interviewed on KYW Newsradio and WHYY 90.9 FM.
We also produced our
own audio news release in advance of the dreidel spin. In this 1
minute and 45 second stereo MP3 file, Rabbi Cohen describes the dreidel
spin with the happy sounds of our preschoolers rehearsing their songs
in the background.
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KYW Newsradio Faith Life Reporter Nancy Griffin, left, interviews Rabbi Debbie Cohen at Temple Emanuel on December 16, 2005, in advance of the Temple's Sunday, December 18 attempt to break the world's record for the most simultaneously spinning dreidels. Temple Emanuel broke the previous record of 535 dreidels spinning held by the Hillel Club at the University of Maryland. Rabbi Cohen organized the dreidel spin activity for Cherry Hill's largest Reform synagogue. |
