all about

THE

EL

2016

the traditional toy of Chanukah

What is it?

A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top

used when playing a gambling game by
the same name. "Dreidel" comes from
the Yiddish word for "to turn."

When is it played?

Dreidel is traditionally played
during the eight days of Chanukah.
However, it is not one of the mitzvot
of Chanukah, so there is no
religious mandate to play it.

A hebrew letter inscribed
on each side dictates the
•
results of the game.
•
•
: b Nun

•
•
•
•
.
•

Player gets nothing

•d

•
•
•
•

/ Hay
V Player takes half

•

•

• •

Gimel
Player takes the pot

a

Shin
Player puts one in

How is it played?

Dreidel is played with any group of
people greater than two. Each player
has an amount of tokens, usually
chocolate coins called gelt or real
currency like pennies. At the beginning
of each person's turn, everyone playing
puts an ante in the center pot. The
person whose turn it is spins the
dreidel; the letter on the side that lands
up dictates how much they can take
out of the pot — or put in.

Who plays it

Although it is commonly associated
with children, anyone can play dreidel.

THE DREIDEL STORY

Tradition tells us that the game of
dreidel goes back to the time of
the Maccabees, when Israel was
controlled by the Seleucids under
Antiochus IV. In this time, study of
Torah was prohibited, so the Jews
would conceal their reading of
Torah by pretending their assem-
bly was for gambling. Although the
story is not historically true, today
we commemmorate the commit-
ment of our ancestors who contin-
ued to study Torah in the face of
opposition by playing dreidel dur-
ing the Chanukah festival.

The letters on the dreidel form
: an acronym for Nes Gadol
Hayah Sham -"a great miracle
happened here." In Israel, the
shin is replaced with a pei (p)
for "here."

• • •

Infographic by Dena Siegel, editor of the
blog Chai & Home (chaiandhome. com).

December 15 2016

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