The Dreidel's Four Letters

By tradition, the dreidel has 4 faces. The first thing one notices about the dreidle is that each of the dreidel's four faces has one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet inscribed on it. The four letters are nun(נ), gimel(ג), hei(ה), and shin(ש),  the initials (beginning of each word) of the phrase "A great miracle occurred there." נס גדול היה שם.

The first thing to note is that the numerical value of these four letters together is 358, also the numerical value of Mashiach (משיח)! The recurring motif found in the dreidel's hidden meanings is that of the Mashiach and Redemption - changing the world and making it a worthy dwelling place for the Almighty.

In the past generation, some Jews living in the land of Israel decided that it would be proper to change the last word from "שם" to "here" (פה) thus making the phrase whose initials are on the dreidle, "A great miracle occurred here." Following this idea, the letters on the dreidel would be נגהפ, and their numerical sum would come to 138. But, as it is, you cannot escape the dreidel's inner meaning, and 138 is the value of Menachem (מנחם), one of the names of the Mashiach according to the Sages; it is also the value of the word Tzemach  (צמח), the name of the Mashiach appearing in the Bible, "Tzemach is his name. ..."

I CAN SIT ALL DAY TO SOAK UP the TORAH of HaRav Yitzchak Ginsburgh

http://www.inner.org/holidays/chanukah/chanukah-hidden-secrets-of-dreidel.php