One of the best known symbols of Hanukkah is the Dreidel. During the time of the Maccabees, Jews were imprisoned for the "crime"
of studying Torah. While in jail, these Jews would gather together to play dreidel. Pretending to play to pass away the time, they'd engage in Torah discussions and thus defy the enemies of Judaism. Dreidel has become a popular game played by all during the Hanukkah.
A dreidel is a four sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. Each of these letters begins a word. The four letters are:
SHIN, HEY, GIMEL, NUN
Nun - the first letter of the word nes, which means "miracle"
Gimmel - the first letter of gadol, which means "great"
Hey - the first letter of haya, which means "was" and
Shin - the first letter of sham, which means "there"
When taken together, these letters proclaim "A Great Miracle Happened There." In Israel the dreidel is a bit different in that their letters mean " A Miracle Happened HERE!"
Dreidel is also a popular game played during the Holiday. Players use pennies, nuts, raisins, or chocolate coins (gelt) as tokens or chips.
To begin, everyone puts one token in the center.
The player spins the dreidel. When the dreidel stops, the letter that is facing up decides the fate.
NUN - nothing happens - next player spins the dreidel
GIMEL - player takes all tokens in the pot
HEY - player takes half of the pot
SHIN - player must put one token into the pot
The player who wins all the tokens first is the winner!!
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NUN - nothing happens - next player spins the dreidel
GIMEL - player takes all tokens in the pot
HEY - player takes half of the pot
SHIN - player must put one token into the pot
