Dreidel

What is a Dreidel? 

Dreidels are a fun toy, similar to spinning tops, that are played with during the holiday of Chanukah. The word is derived from Yiddish, which means “to turn”. It has 4 sides and each side has a different Hebrew letter. In the diaspora the letters are nun, gimmel, hay, shin. Which stands for “Nes gadol haya sham”,(A Great Miracle Happened There) In Israel the final letter shin (there) is replaced with pey (here).

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The miracle referenced is the oil, which was supposed to be enough to burn for only one day, but continued to burn for 8 days. This happened in the Temple in Jerusalem, explaining the changing of the last letter on the dreidel in Israel. The finding of the oil happened after a number of oppressive decrees were places upon the Jews, ongoing warfare between the Hasmoneans and the Greeks, and an all but destroyed Temple.

In most parts of the world Chanukah falls during the winter season and children are kept indoors to avoid the cold air in the nights. The dreidel has helped to occupy Jewish children for hundreds of years.

Where do dreidels come from?

It is not perfectly clear where or how the game was established. It is likely it was adopted from other spinning top games with the added characteristics of chanukah. However, there is a nice tradition that during the time of Chanukah, the Greek empire invaded Israel and outlawed the study of torah. The Jews resisted and continued to educate their children, but when the Greeks patrolled their homes, the children needed a cover for their learning, thus they pulled out the dreidels and pretended to be playing games.

This contributes to another origin of the games since Chanukah shares the same Hebrew root as Chincuh, meaning “education” and the children sacrificed everything in order to continue their education.

How do we play?

The game that accompanies dreidels requires each child to have coins or chocolates called gelt. After the dreidel is spun each of the 4 sides have a different consequence, depending on which one it lands. The nun causes no action, the gimmel allows the player to take all the coins in the pot, hey allows the player takes half the coins, and shin/pey they put everything in the pot. The game is won by the final player with coins still in the pot, after the others have been eliminated. The minimum number of players is 2, but there is no maximum, in fact the more the better!

Dreidels today

Today dreidels have become perhaps the best-known pastime during Chanukah. It does not require abundant skill to spin or to play by the rules. So, starting from a young age, children can play. Dreidels come in many colors and sizes that are sure to catch the interest of any child. Additionally, like many things in Judaism a precious lesson is to be learned and remembered while the game is played, and that is the utmost importance placed upon education.