Objects

Spinning top in the shape of a low cube with a stem for finger-spinning. Each side along the circumference is decorated with a convex relief depicting individual Hebrew letters. The letters are: Nun, Gimel, Hei, Shin. A stem issues from the top wall, which is an almost perfect square with marked diagonals. The bottom wall also has marked diagonals and bears traces of a tip on which the top spun.

Dreidel (Yiddish: dreydl, Hebrew: sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top used for playing a traditional Jewish gambling game on Hanukkah.

Each side of the top bears a Hebrew letter: נ‎ (Nun), ג‎ (Gimel), ה‎ (Hei), ש‎ (Shin). Together, they form an acrostic standing for the Hebrew phrase “nes gadol hayah sham” (“a great miracle has happened there”).

Rules of the game: four players gather around the top in the centre. Each player is given a defined number of coins (they can be replaced with candies). Before starting the game, the first player selects a number of coins or candies to place in the “pot”. Then, each member spins the top and takes coins from the pot or adds to it, depending on which side the top falls to.

– נ‎ (Nun) – you take nothing, you add nothing;

– ‎ ג (Gimel) – you take the entire pot;

– ה‎ (Hei) – you take half;

– ש‎ (Shin) – you add one coin to the pot.

The spinning top was purchased for the Museum collection from a private owner in 2012.