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The "grogger" is a noisemaker. The custom is to use it to make noise when Haman's name is read aloud from the Megilas Esther in synagogue on Purim. This is a corollary of the custom to write Haman's name on stone or wood surfaces and then erase it, thus fulfilling the injunction to blot out the name of the wicked. Raising a racket when his name is heard is another way of blotting out his name. It has been noted that the grogger is held and twirled by a handle from the bottom, whereas the Chanukkah dreidel is spun from the top. (See e-geress Q. & A. on Channukah.) This is because in the days of Chanukkah, only a handful of people took the initiative to stand up for the Torah, and so G-d had to take matters in hand from above. In the days of Purim, on the other hand, the inspiration to prayer and repentence came from the Jewish people in this world below. |