Dreidels

The tradition dates back to the time of the Syrian-Greek rule. When Jewish people were forbidden from studying the Torah, they would gather secretly to study. If soldiers approached, they would quickly hide their scrolls and pull out spinning tops (dreidels) to pretend they were simply playing a game.

A dreidel (or 'sevivon' in Hebrew) is a four-sided spinning top stamped with a Hebrew letter on each side.

Together, the four letters form an acronym for the famous phrase: "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham", "A great miracle happened there").

Nun (נ): Stands for "Nisht" (Yiddish for "nothing"). The player takes no action and passes the turn.

Gimel (ג): Stands for "Ganz" ("everything"). The lucky spinner wins the entire pot!

Hey (ה): Stands for "Halb" ("half"). The player collects half of the total pot.

Shin (ש): Stands for "Stel ein" ("put in"). The player adds a coin or treat to the pot.

Note: In Israel, dreidels feature the letter "Pe (פ)" instead of Shin, representing "Nes Gadol Hayah Po" - "A great miracle happened here".

1. Set Up the Pot: Give each player an equal number of game pieces (traditionally chocolate gelt, coins, raisins, or nuts). Every player puts 1 piece into the center "pot".

2. Take Turns Spinning: Players take turns spinning the dreidel once per round.

3. Follow the Letter: Depending on which letter lands face up (Nun, Gimel, Hey, or Shin), the player follows the rule above.

4. Refill the Pot: If the pot ever becomes empty, every player contributes 1 piece back into the center.

5. Winning the Game: The game continues until one player has collected all the game pieces!

While foil-wrapped chocolate coins (gelt) are the most popular tokens, you can also use chocolate buttons, nuts, raisins, buttons or small counters.

We offer classic natural and painted wooden dreidels, crystal clear acrylic, glow-in-the-dark, metallic finishes, LED light-up and musical dreidels, fillable treat dreidels and DIY craft dreidels in single packs and bulk boxes.