Each year my brother and I would get golden chocolate coins in our stockings, Im sure many of you did also. Did you ever wonder what in the world they were for and why were you getting them? Well, we got them because they were available and chocolate!!!! But what were they really used for. These chocolate coins are called Gelt in Hebrew. Today in Jewish households everyone plays the game to win the most chocolate coins but when the game first started, according to tridation, they played for real money, Gelt. Here is an explanation of how to play with the dreidel to win the most chocolate, just incase you are craving some chocolate coins. Dreidel Instructions How to play the traditional Chanukah spinning-top game The History The traditional Chanukah dreidel (spinning top) is a throwback to the times when the Greek armies of King Antiochus controlled the Holy Land, before the Maccabees defeated them and sent them packing. The powerful regime passed a series of laws outlawing the study of Torah and many of the mitzvot. The Jews were compelled to take their Torah learning “underground,” for they knew that a Jew without Torah is like a fish out of water. Jewish children resorted to learning Torah in outlying areas and forests. Even this plan was not foolproof, for the enemy had many patrols. The children therefore brought along small tops that they would quickly pull out and play with after secreting away their texts, so that they could pretend to be merely playing games. Our Chanukah dreidel games are a salute to these Jewish heroes of yore. The Dreidel The classic dreidel is a four sided spinning top made of wood, plastic, or the proverbial clay. On the four sides of the dreidel appear four letters from the Hebrew alphabet—nun (נ), gimmel (ג), hey (ה), and shin (ש). These four letters are an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham—a great miracle happened there. In Israel, the actual setting of the Chanukah miracle, the last letter, shin, is substituted with a pey (פ), which stands for po—here. Game Components Age range: Three and up (little children might require assistance with spinning the dreidel) 1 Dreidel (or, accelerate the pace of the game by supplying each player with his/her own dreidel) 2 or more players (the more the merrier!) The Ante—nuts, pennies, nickels, chocolate coins, nuts, or just about anything else... Flat Surface (such as floor or wide table) for dreidel spinning A Chanukah Festive Mood Optional: Platter of Latkes and/or Sufganiot The Setup All players sit around the playing area. The ante is equally divided amongst all players. Everyone takes a turn at spinning the dreidel; the one with the highest spin has first turn. (Nun is highest, then gimmel, hey, and shin.) If there is a tie for highest, those who tied spin again. Everyone puts one unit of the ante (penny, nut, etc.) into the pot. The one who has first turn is followed in clockwise direction by all the others. Player A spins the dreidel while everyone waits in utter suspense (in the interest of speeding up the game, some knock down the dreidel mid-spin instead of waiting for it to come to a rest). If the dreidel lands on a... Nun - נ Youve just wasted your time. Absolutely nothing happens. You may as well have taken a bathroom break instead of that useless spin. Better luck next time! Nun stands for the Yiddish word nul, which means zero, nothing, nil. After your exercise in futility its time now for the player to your left to take a spin. If however your dreidel landed on a... Gimmel - ג Wow! Amazing! You did it! You get to take the whole pot! Take it quick and then do a little victory dance around the room. Pay no attention to the envious stares you are getting. You are an absolute dreidel pro! Gimmel stands for gantz, which means whole. Everyone, including you, now puts another unit of the ante into the pot, and the person to your left tries his luck at spinning. But, its hard to be so lucky every time. Sometimes your dreidel will land on a... Hey - ה Okay, you could have done better, but you could have done worse. You get to take half of the pot. If the pot has an odd amount of units, dont try to split that penny, nut, or piece of chocolate in half. Leave it there. Take the high road. Let the others believe that it is beneath you to care... Hey stands for halb, half. The pot has now been diminished, and its time for the player to your left to take a stab at riches. But dont complain. The dreidel could have landed on a... Shin - ש The absolute worst. The dregs. You now have to put another unit into the pot! You better figure out how to improve your spinning technique before you will be forced to take out a second mortgage on your home. Shin is for shenk; yes, that means give. Your hope now is that the pot will still be around next time it is your turn to spin. Maybe then youll get a gimmel and recoup your losses... The Endgame The game ends when one of the following occurs: a) The platter of latkes or sufganiot is finished. b) One of the children becomes whiny (usually upon realizing that pretty soon he/she will have no more chocolate coins remaining). c) Mom or Dad have some urgent business to attend to. d) The crack of dawn has arrived. And the real endgame is the lesson this game has taught. We are overjoyed about the miracles and wonders G‑d did for our ancestors. Throughout Chanukah this is constantly on our mind—even when we are involved with fun and games! Illustrations by Yehuda Lang. To view more artwork by this artist, click here. More from Yehuda Lang | RSS © Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.orgs copyright policy.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 19:05:17 +0000
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