Dreidel

The Dreidel Wizard guides you through the Dreidel tradition -- its history, standardized game rules and the endgame.

The dreidel, known in Hebrew as a sevivon, dates back to the time of the Greek-Syrian rule over the Holy Land—which set off the Maccabean revolt that culminated in the Chanukah miracle.

There are two holidays on which we spin. The Chanukah dreidel is spun from above. Purim's gragger is turned from below...

It is customary to play dreidel -- a game played with a spinning top inscribed with the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimmel, Hei and Shin, which spell the phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there." (It is said that when the Greeks forbade the ...

In order to disguise their activity the Children of Israel had to resort to learning Torah in outlying areas and forests. Even this plan was not foolproof, for the enemy had many pat

Are you having a Gimmel day? (It's been a while, eh?) Or perhaps a Shin moment? (That one doesn't requires any explanation...) But did you ever ponder the fact that all four letters are faces of the same Dreidle?

Oh Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I made you out of clay, and the Almighty Himself breathed into you a soul of fire and you in turn tempered in His people a will of steel...

On Chanukah we play a special game called Dreidel. The Dreidel is a four-sided spinning top, called a “sevivon” in Hebrew

Each component of a Jewish holiday was put in place in accordance with the particular holiday's singular message. So, where does that leave the traditional dreidel game?