Jewish dreidels, an icon, and a 19th-century cross — an attempt was made to take cultural valuables out of Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Kyiv customs officers confiscated 19th-century cultural valuables bound for the United States and Estonia. No permits for their export were provided.
Kyiv customs officers prevented the export of 19th-century cultural valuables from Ukraine—dreidels, an antique icon and a cross. An expert examination confirmed that the items are cultural valuables. The State Customs Service of Ukraine reports this, UNN writes.
The dreidels and cross, which were headed to the United States, and the icon, which was headed to Estonia, were discovered during customs control of international postal shipments. Given their signs of antiquity, customs officers sent them to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine for an expert examination to determine whether they belonged to cultural valuables
According to the experts’ conclusion, the three small spinning tops are dreidels, traditional to Jewish culture. They are an attribute of an ancient game that children play during the celebration of Hanukkah. The sides of the dreidels bear Hebrew letters that form the phrase "A great miracle happened there."
The history of this game is connected with events in the 2nd century BCE. In 167 BCE, the Syrian king Antiochus significantly restricted the rights of Jews to observe religious commandments and banned the study of the Torah. Jews were forced to study it secretly, hiding in caves. According to tradition, children were left near the entrance and, upon noticing guards approaching, began playing noisily with dreidels so that the adults would have time to hide the Torah scrolls.
The discovered dreidels are of archaeological origin. Similar items are represented in Ukraine’s museum collections only to a very limited extent.
The metal icon of the Holy Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" is an example of 19th-century Old Believer cast-copper artwork. Such icons were worn as amulets or hung near the head of sick people.
The eight-pointed cross that was discovered is an altar crucifix. Such crosses became an obligatory attribute of priests, who put them on during ordination.
Under current Ukrainian legislation, permits are required to export cultural valuables abroad. No such documents were provided to the customs officers.