President Mote, VP Student Affairs Dr. Clement and Student Government President Andrew Friedson spinning the Dreidel

On the snowy blistery cold evening of December 5th, a few days before finals and the second night of Chanukah, the University of Maryland Hillel recaptured the world record for having the most dreidels spinning simultaneously for 10 seconds (a record they initiated in 2000). 603 students, faculty and community members braved snow and ice to participate in the Dreidel “Spin Off.” 

President C.D. Mote, Dr. Linda Clement and Student Government President Andrew Friedson all came out to propel this great university back into the record books. Maryland first established the record in 2000 with 535 spinners and lost it in 2005, to Temple Emmanuel in NJ who had 541 participants. Rabbi Ari Israel, executive director of Hillel, said of the spinoff that it was a matter of pride and community building amongst the students. The a cappella group Rak Shalom began the celebration with the traditional lighting of the Menorah. 

This fun contest will hopefully be the twist and spin that Jewish students need to continue to explore and own their proud Jewish journey!  The University of Michigan and Indiana both came up short in their attempts to dethrone the Terps, catalyzing a dreidel rivalry that will surely continue for many decades.

The broad community supported Hillel event was spearheaded by the Hillel Programming Organization (HiPO) and co-sponsored with HiPO, Rak Shalom, JSU, Koach AEPi, AEPhi, DPHiE, SDT, Chabad, MJX, Terpac, Tzedek, ZOA, CEI, JSAC and Kedma!!!