Dreidel is a traditional game of chance and one of the best known symbols of Hanukkah. It is a kind of four-sided spinning top with a different Hebrew character on each side and dates back to 175 BC. about, when the Greek king Antiochus IV forbade the Jewish cult. The Jews who gathered to study the Torah used the dreidel to make the soldiers who controlled them think that they were only addicted to gambling. Today, the aim of the dreidel is to win more 'gelt' (that is, chocolate coins wrapped in gold paper). With a dreidel and a few coins, you too can take part in this festive tradition.
Steps
Step 1. Get a dreidel
The type of dreidel you will find will depend on the area you live in. Outside Israel, the four letters on the sides of the dreidel are "Nun, Gimmel, Hay" and "Shin", which means "A great miracle happened there", referring to the oil miracle). In Israel, where the miracle happened, the dreidel has the letters "Nun, Gimmel, Hay," and "Pey", which means "A great miracle happened here".
Step 2. Invite friends
You can play just two, but many have more fun.
Distribute the coins equally among all players. Instead of coins you can also use other things: peanuts, matches, or candied grapes, etc. Many use chocolate coins
Step 3. Place your bet
Before each spin of the top, the players place the bet in the center to fill "the pot".
Whenever the pot is empty, or there is only one coin left, each player will have to bet again
Step 4. Spin the dreidel in turn
When it's your turn, spin the dreidel once. The letter that will remain face up determines who wins, loses or draws:
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’’’Shin’’’ (‘'shtel'’ or "put" in Yiddish) - It means "Aim again".
Play Dreidel Step 4Bullet1 -
'' 'Nun' '' ('' nisht '' or '' nothing '' in Yiddish)) - Nobody wins, nobody loses.
Play Dreidel Step 4Bullet2 -
’’’Gimmel’’’ (‘’ gantz’’ or "all" in Yiddish) - you win the whole pot.
Play Dreidel Step 4Bullet3 -
"Hay" ("halb" or "half" in Yiddish) - You win half of the pot. If the coins are odd, round up.
Play Dreidel Step 4Bullet4 - If you run out of coins, you will have to "go out" or ask for a loan from another player.
Step 5. Pass the dreidel to the next player
Step 6. Continue playing until all the coins disappear from the pot
Advice
- If there are no more coins, all players will have to bet again.
- A fun variation is to use chocolate instead of coins, so you can eat it at the end of the game.
- If you don't have a dreidel, you can download a template and make your own! Many sites offer free templates that you can print.
- If a player runs out of coins, he can decide to quit the game or ask for a loan from another player.
- In a variation of the game, the player who gets the "nun" symbol loses everything and exits the game.
- In another version of the game, you have to bet the total of the pot if you want to stay in the game while when "shin" appears you have to put another coin when "nun" appears.
- In Israel, the letter "shin" is usually replaced with the letter "peh" for the word "poh" to create the phrase "A great miracle happened here".
- In Yiddish, the dreidel is also called "fargle" and "varfl". In Israel, the Hebrew term "sevivon" is also used (from the root meaning "to turn or to spin").
