Find all posts in this 8-part Berkshire Chanukah series HERE.
Want to stay on top of all the latest and greatest happenings for families in the Berkshires? Sign up to receive your free weekly newsletter HERE.
- Grab some dreidels and gelt, then get your friends and family! Everyone gets one dreidel (spinning top) and at least four pieces of gelt, but you’ll see how quickly they go–we would recommend 10-15. You can also use pennies, M&Ms, nuts, or whatever other small pieces you have.
- Before the round begins, everyone puts one piece into the “pot” in the center. Designate someone to start by spinning their dreidel once. Whichever side lands up, that’s what you must do. Go around the circle, each person spinning their dreidel once a turn. Be careful not to confuse the nun and the gimmel, one gets you everything in the pot and the other gets you nothing!
- When a player spins a gimmel, they take the whole pot for themselves and everyone (including that player) must put a piece into the pot so the game can continue. Spinning a hey gets that player half of what’s in the pot. A shin means that you put one piece into the pot.
- When a player is out of pieces, they can ask another player for some or keep spinning and hope they get lucky! The game is over when one person has all the pieces, or when everyone is done playing.
And that’s it, go forth and spin your dreidels!
So, what is a dreidel?
Dreidel is a Yiddish word, that means “to turn around.” In Hebrew, the word for spinning top is sevivon. Though the letters on the dreidel are Hebrew characters, they actually all stem from Yiddish words. This means when we play dreidel, we use three different languages in the game!
The four sides of a dreidel, with four Hebrew letters, are meant to tell us one thing: A Great Miracle Happened There.
(Nun) Neis: Miracle
(Gimmel) Gadol: Great
(Hey) Haya: Happened
(Shin) Sham: There
In Israel, the dreidels have one different letter. Can you guess why?
(Nun) Neis: Miracle
(Gimmel) Gadol: Great
(Hey) Haya: Happened
(Pey) Po: Here
********************
Jodie Friedman is the Program Associate at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire in Great Barrington. Hevreh of Southern Berkshire is a destination for Jewish Life, Learning, and Community in the southern Berkshires. The Hebrew word "Hevreh" means friendship — a word that states Hevreh of Southern Berkshire's purpose — to be a community of friends in a Jewish context.
