Hanukkah Games: How to Play the "Dreidel" Game

Some spell it dreidl, some draydl and some dreidel, but any way you "spin it", the dreidel game provides Hanukkah holiday fun. The dreidel is a 4-sided spinning top. The word is pronounced "dray-dl". First, a little history lesson on Hanukkah.

Hanukkah, the Jewish "Festival of Lights", is in short the celebration of when the ancient Hebrews only had enough lamp oil to burn one night. In the days of Judas Maccabaeus (Judah Maccabee), the Syrian ruler Antiochus began forbidding the observance of Judaism. His men went to a town called Modiin, in which there was a high Hebrew priest named Mattathias, of the family known as Maccabee. He had five sons; the most prominent in history is Judah. When the soldiers tried to force the priests to sacrifice a pig in the temple, which was of course, strictly against all of God's Levitical dietary laws, it started a civil war. The Jews looked to the Maccabees for leadership. Judah led a march on Jerusalem and took the temple back.

After they cleansed the temple, the Maccabees re-lit the Menorah (candle stand) and were said to have enough oil only for one night. But the oil burned for eight days, and so they made an eight-day holiday to celebrate the right to shine their light for God.

There is no absoute proof of the origin of the dreidl game or how it came to be associated with Hanukkah. Some say it was a gambling game taken from the Grecians, others from a German gambling game used at times of celebration. The Hebrew word "sivivon" can also be used for the dreidl as it means "to turn".

How to Play:

Each side of the 4-sided spinning top is labeled with a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet: nun, gimel, hey, or shin. If a player spins "nun" - he/she gets nothing. Shin has to put money into the pot, hey gets half a pot, and gimel wins the whole pot. The "pot" is usually a shiny bowl full of "Hanukkah gelt" - pieces of chocolate wrapped in silver or gold foil and stamped to look like money pieces. "Gelt" is the Yiddish or Hebrew word for money.

Of course, since the game is for kids, all sorts of rules can be made up and broken to assure that everyone gets his or her fair share of a sugar rush! Beside the initial night's celebration, many Jewish families practice gift-giving and getting on each of the eight nights.

Combine your gaming with some good eatin' - see Sheryl's recipe for Hanukkah "latkes" (potato pancakes) here.

Sources:

Are you a Christian with questions about the Jewish holidays or the Jewish faith? This information is excerpted from Sheryl's book (click here for info), What Every Christian Should Know about the Jewish People: Improving the Church's Relationship with God's Original Chosen Nation.

R.E. Norton, who reviews books, movies and music for Associated Content, has reviewed this book. See review here.