The dreidel is a special top used to play a much-loved Hanukkah game. It is spun just like a top to win pennies, nuts or candies. The dreidel has four sides, each with a Hebrew letter on it – nun, gimmel, hay and shin. Everyone has a turn to spin the dreidel. If it lands on nun, you do not get anything. If it lands on gimmel, you could win all the goodies. When the dreidel lands on hay, you are entitled to half of the goodies. Finally, if it lands on shin, you will have to give back some of your winnings.
The 4 letters on a dreidel make up an acronym. There are two versions of the acronym. They are:
- In Israel: Nes, Gadol, Haya, Po - A great miracle happened here.
- Outside of Israel: Nes, Gadol, Haya, Sham - A great miracle happened there.
Make your own Dreidel
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup water
Note: You will also need blue acrylic paint, a paintbrush, a black fine-line felt-tipped marker, shellac and a paint brush
Directions:
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Gradually add the water, mixing with your hands. When all the water is used up, mix the dough well with your hands and knead. Put some flour on a clean working surface.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- To craft the three-dimensional dreidel, begin by making a 4” ball from the dough.
- The bottom of the dreidel must come to a point and the top should be narrow enough to be held easily. Refine the shape by checking the illustration below.
- Place on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly browned. It takes about 30 minutes, but check the oven often to make sure the pieces are not burning along the edges.
- Using a potholder, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow clay to cool
- After cooling, paint with blue acrylic paint and allow to dry. Decorate with one of the Hebrew letters on each side using the black fine-line felt-tipped marker (see letters below). When dry, coat it completely with shellac to keep out any moisture and to preserve the dreidel.
