The Dreidel

Jewish symbols

One of the best known symbols of Chanukah is the dreidel, also called a "s'vivon," in Hebrew. A dreidel is a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. Dreidel is a derivative of a German word meaning "top," and the game is an adaptation of an old German gambling game. Hanukkah was one of the few times of the year when the rabbis permitted games of chance.

One anecdote recalls the dreidel from the times when the Syrians prohibited the Jews from studying Torah. When the Syrians saw a group of Jews together, they checked to see that they were not studying. The Jews would hide their books and take out their dreidels and trick the Syrians into thinking they were just playing a game.

There are several interpretations as to what the Hebrew letters on the sides of the dreidel stand for:

1) The four letters are: SHIN, HEY, GIMEL, NUN. The letters stand for the phrase, "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham - a great miracle happened there." In Israel the dreidel is a bit different in that instead of the SHIN there is a PAY, "Nes Gadol Hayah Po -" a great miracle happened HERE!"

2) In the playing of the game, each player places some raisins, chocolate coins (gelt), sweets, or nuts into a kitty, and the players take turns spinning the dreidel. When the dreidel stops, the letter that is facing up decides the fate. "Nun" stands for "nisht" which means "nothing". The player wins nothing. "Gimmel" stands for "gantz" which means "all". The player wins the entire pot. "Heh" stands for "halb" which means "half". The player wins half the pot. If there is an odd number of tokens, the player takes the extra token. "Shin" stands for "shtel" which means "put in". The player must put two of his own tokens in the pot.

The winner would often receive money (Hanukkah gelt). Over time, the gambling terms were reinterpreted to stand for the Hebrew phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "A great miracle happened there." Thus, even an ordinary game of chance was invested with Jewish values and served to remind Jews of the important message of Hanukkah.

3) Channukah and the dreidel commemorates the miraculous victory of a faithful few over the might of the Greek Empire. But on a deeper level, the dreidel can be interpreted as a microcosmic representation of the four kingdoms, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome and, spinning around the center, the Jewish People.

This fanciful explanation starts not with the miracle of Chanukah, but 1,437 years earlier with Jacob's ladder. Jacob had a prophetic dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder that reached from the ground to the heavens. These angels were incorporeal spiritual messengers - the protecting forces of four great kingdoms.

Four kingdoms that would in the future dominate and exile the Jewish People: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.

At first, Jacob saw the angel of Babylon ascend the ladder 70 steps and then he came down: The Jewish People were in the Babylonian exile for 70 years.

The protecting angel of the Empire of Persia and Media then climbed up the ladder 52 steps before he descended: The Jewish People were in exile in Persia 52 years.

Then the angel of the Empire of Greece climbed 180 rungs - the domination of Greece lasted 180 years.

Finally, the protecting angel of the Roman Empire climbed up the ladder, but he didn't come down. Jacob feared that this final exile would never end, until God promised Jacob - If he will rise up like an eagle and make his nest among the stars - even from there I will bring him down.