Dreidel

Metal alloy
United States, mid-20th century
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Cyril Gross
Skirball Museum

A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet which together form the acronym for “a great miracle happened there,” referring to the miracle of a small amount of oil lasting for eight days when the Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. On dreidels made in Israel, the fourth side is inscribed with the Hebrew letter for the word “here,” as the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. A gambling game is played with the dreidel, and players take all, half, none, or put into the pot depending on the letter that appears when the dreidel is spun.

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