How to Play Dreidel

Every year, Jewish people all over the world celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah. Among the many traditions of the eight nights of Hanukkah is playing the game dreidel. This game can be fun for everyone at this time but where does this game come from and how do you even play?

To start, what even is a dreidel? Dreidel literally means "spinning top" in Yiddish and is usually made of wood or plastic and has four sides to it. When you look at the dreidel you will notice that each side has a symbol on it. These symbols are the Hebrew letters, Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin, which make up the acronym for the Hebrew saying "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham" which translates to a great miracle happened there, referring to the miracle that Hanukkah celebrates.

Where does the game of dreidel come from? This depends on who you ask to be honest. Some have claimed that the game started after the Torah was banned and studying it outlawed in Greece. The story goes that children who were studying the Torah would see a soldier approach them and take out their dreidels to make it look like they were just playing a game with spinning tops. Others have said that the letters on the dreidel represent the four kingdoms that attempted to destroy the Jews during ancient times. Nun representing Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Kingdom, Hey representing Haman of Persia, Gimel representing Gog/Greece, and Shin representing Seir/Rome.

However, another theory claims that dreidel originally started as something that had nothing to do with Hanukkah or Judaism. This theory claims that the origins of the game actually come from a game native to England or Ireland. This game was called totum and dates back to the 1500s. By the 1800s, each side of the top had a letter on it. T, for take all, H, for take half, P, for put down, and N for Nothing.

How do you play dreidel?

Never played dreidel before or need a refresher? The rules of dreidel are below.

Each player takes a turn spinning the dreidel and does the following depending on how it lands. If the dreidel lands on nun, then nothing happens and the next player begins their turn. If the dreidel lands on Hey, then you take half of the pot. If the dreidel lands on gimel then you take the whole pot. After the player collects the pot, each player then puts in the determined amount into the pot. If the dreidel lands on shin then you put in a predetermined amount to the pot. A tip for a faster game is to increase the amount a player must contribute to the pot depending on how their dreidel lands.

You may be wondering what can be used to ante up into the pot, the answer is literally anything. You can use pennies, gold coins, nuts, or anything else of your choosing as your currency for this game.

As you play, if a player lands on shin and is not able to contribute to the pot or if a player lands on gimel and a player cannot contribute, they are eliminated from the game. This process ends once there is only one player remaining.

Hopefully, after reading this article, you have a better understanding of the interesting history of the game of dreidel. Although the history of the game is not entirely clear, each theory paints an interesting picture as to how the game began in Judaism. No matter what the true story is, playing dreidel has brought joy to many Jewish families over the years and has become an important tradition during Hanukkah.

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