How to create a Dreidel

No Hanukkah worth its oil would be complete without a few rousing games of dreidel. You can buy these colorful tops at any place that sells Jewish holiday supplies. But it's fun to make your own, either from a kit or ' if you're feeling extra creative ' from scratch

Instructions

Gather your supplies. You'll find everything you need at a craft-supply store. Press moist clay into a cube-shaped mold, and smooth the clay on the open side with a flat knife or ruler. Remove the clay from the mold while it's still moist. Insert a piece of dowel into the center of one of the sides so that it reaches at least to the center of the cube. Press more clay into a cone or pyramid-shaped mold. (The flat side should be the same size or slightly smaller than the side of the box.) While the clay is still moist, remove it from the mold. Affix the cone to the side of the cube opposite the dowel. Let the clay dry. Paint or stencil onto each blank side of the cube one of the following Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimmel, Hay and Shin. Let the paint dry and start "Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay"

Even if youre not Jewish, the odds are that this catchy little song has gotten stuck in your head at least once-and even if you are Jewish, you probably werent aware that the word is derived from the German dreihenmeaning to spin and that dreidels originated in a popular Yiddish gambling game.

Here's how to spin your dreidel the modern way. Assemble a kitty. The stakes in a dreidel game arent money, but tasty snacks-Hershey Kisses, raisins, M&Ms, or (traditionally) Chanukah gelt, that is, foil-wrapped chocolate coins. Distribute the kitty equally among the three, four, or more players in the game. Each player puts one of his tokens in the center of the table, creating the dreidel pot

Have each player spin the dreidel in turn. If you look closely at the dreidel, youll see that each of its four sides is decorated with a different Hebrew letter: nun, gimel, hey, and shin-which supposedly stand for the Hebrew phrase meaning A great miracle happened there. (Actually, these letters derive from the words inscribed on the Yiddish precursor of the dreidel, but theres no harm pushing this myth on kids.) The rest of the game proceeds as follows: if the player spins a Nun he collects nothing (in Yiddish) and yields to the next player. If he spins a Gimel he wins the entire pot (Gimel stands for Gesht which is Yiddish for get)If he spins a Hey he gets half the pot (Halb in you-know what), and if he spins a Shin he has to put one of his own pieces in the pot (Shin derives from the Yiddish Shtel meaning set.) If a player manages to collect all the items in the pot, she is the winner. However, its possible to prolong a dreidel game indefinitely (or at least until dinner is ready) by giving other players candy "loans." Playing the dreidel game with real money is generally discouraged, but occasionally adults will agree to fund the kitty with dimes and quarters if the players agree to contribute all of their winnings to charity. Despite what you saw on that episode of South Park, the biblical figure Moses is not shaped like a giant psychedelic dreidel.