Hanukkah - Dreidel

Dreidel

The dreidel, or sevivon in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words נס גדול היה שם (Nes Gadol Haya Sham, "A great miracle happened there"), referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the Beit Hamikdash.

• נ (Nun)
• ג (Gimel)
• ה (Hey)
• ש (Shin)

On dreidels sold in Israel, the fourth side is inscribed with the letter פ (Pe), rendering the acronym נס גדול היה פה (Nes Gadol Haya Po, "A great miracle happened here"), referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Stores in Haredi neighbourhoods sell the traditional Shin dreidels as well.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a Yiddish version of the game) is as follows:

• Nun–nisht, "nothing"–nothing happens and the next player spins
• Gimel–gants, "all"–the player takes the entire pot
• Hey–halb, "half"–the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
• Shin–shtel ayn, "put in"–the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:

• Nun–nim, "take"–the player takes one from the pot
• Gimel–gib, "give"–the player puts one in the pot
• Hey–halb, "half"–the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
• Shin–shtil, "still" (as in "stillness")–nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

The dreidel is believed to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were studying Torah, which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.