What Is a Dreidel?
Dreidel (דריידל) is Yiddish for "spinning top." Known in Hebrew as a sevivon, a dreidel is a pointed, four-sided top which can be made to spin on its pointed base. It is customary to play dreidel games on the holiday of Hanukkah.
The classic dreidel is made of wood, plastic, or the proverbial clay; silver or glass "designer dreidels" are also available, usually intended for display purposes.
What Is Written on the Dreidel?
On the four sides of the dreidel appear four embossed or printed letters from the Hebrew alphabet—nun (נ), gimmel (ג), hey (ה), and shin (ש). These four letters are an acronym for "nes gadol hayah sham"—"a great miracle happened there," a reference to the Hanukkah miracle.
In Israel, the actual setting of the Hanukkah miracle, the last letter, shin, is substituted with a pey (פ), which stands for "po"—"here."
Getting Your Dreidel Game Started
- In addition to dreidels, you'll need the currency—nuts, pennies, nickels, chocolate coins, or just about anything else...
- All players sit around the playing area.
- The currency is equally divided amongst all players.
- Everyone takes a turn at spinning the dreidel; the one with the highest spin has first turn. (Nun is highest, then gimmel, hey, and shin.) If there is a tie for highest, those who tied spin again.
- Everyone puts one unit of the currency (penny, nut, etc.) into the pot.
- The one who has first turn is followed in clockwise direction by all the others.
Rules of the Game
If the dreidel lands on a...
Nun Absolutely nothing happens. Nun stands for the Yiddish word nul, which means zero. It's time for the player to your left to take a spin.
Gimel You get to take the whole pot! Gimmel stands for gantz, which means whole. Everyone, including you, now puts another unit into the pot, and the person to your left tries his luck at spinning.
Hey You get to take half of the pot. Hey stands for halb, half. If the pot has an odd amount of units, don't try to split that penny, nut, or piece of chocolate in half. Leave the odd item there.
Shin You put a unit into the pot. Shin is for shenk; yes, that means "give."
You can speed up the game by upping the ante, raising shin and post-gimmel contributions to two, three or even four units.
Whenever the pot is emptied, every player must contribute a set amount. Any player that cannot contribute after landing on a shin or after a fellow player lands on a gimmel, is out of the game. The game ends when there is one player left.
Why People Play Dreidel on Hanukkah
The traditional Hanukkah dreidel is a throwback to the times when the Greek-Syrian armies of King Antiochus controlled the Holy Land, before the Maccabees defeated them in a revolt that culminated in the Hanukkah miracle. The powerful regime passed a series of laws outlawing the study of Torah and many of the mitzvot. Learning Torah became a "crime" punishable by death. The Jews were compelled to take their Torah learning “underground.”
Jewish children resorted to learning Torah in outlying areas and forests, even hiding in caves in order to study. It is said that if a Greek patrol passed by they would quickly pull out and play with small tops. Our Hanukkah dreidel games are a salute to these Jewish heroes of yore, reminding us of the courage of those brave children.
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