Dreidel an 18th Century Tee totem variant children's game
Dreidel an 18 th Century Tee totem variant children's game The earliest known mention of a dreidel in a Jewish context dates to the 18th century The game was adapted by Jewish communities, with Hebrew letters inscribed on the dreidel representing Yiddish words: nun (nisht, "nothing"), gimel (gants, "entire, whole"), hei (halb, "half"), and shin (shtel arayn, "put in"). These letters served as a mnemonic for the game's rules. Likely adapted from the German game's letters N, G, H, S , which stood for German words related to gameplay. Over time, the dreidel became associated with Hanukkah, with the letters interpreted as an acronym for the phrase "נס גדול היה שם" (Nes Gadol Haya Sham, "A great miracle happened there"), referring to the Hanukkah miracle. In Israel, the letter shin is often replaced by pe, changing the phrase to "נס גדול היה פה" (Nes Gadol Haya Po, "A great miracle happened here...