sunset, December 4, 2007 - sunset, December 12, 2007
A Dreidel is a four-sided
spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. In America the letters stand
for "A Great Miracle Happened There". In Israel the letters mean "A Miracle
Happened Here".
The Dreidel game is played by giving each player a number of coins or candy
pieces. Before spinning the dreidel, each player puts a fixed proportion of
the amount of coins received into the "Kupah" or kitty. Each player in turn
spins the dreidel. When the dreidel falls, it will fall on one of the 4
letters. According to the letter, the following will happen:
Nun - no win / no lose
Gimmel - take all (from the kitty)
Hey - take half (from the kitty)
Shin or Peh - lose (what you deposited)
The game continues until players run out of 'funds' or agree to stop (anyone
losing all funds is out of the game).
The dreidel game was popular when Antiochus ruled. Jewish people, struggling
to keep their faith alive, would gathered together to study the Torah,
outlawed by Antiochus. They would keep the dreidel near by so if soldiers
appeared they could hide their scriptures and pretend to play with the
dreidel. In Israel the dreidel is called a sivivon. The yiddish word "dreidel"
is derived from the German word "drehen", or "turn".
