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Five-year-old Jacob Reba can't resist spinning a dreidel on a recent day at temple. And after the wooden top spins several seconds on a table, it comes to rest on just the side up that Jacob wants - "Gimel."
It's the Hebrew letter that represents gantz, or whole. So, in Jacob's case, it means winning big.
"Look, Mom; I won!" shouts Jacob, who doesn't mind he is playing by himself and there is no payoff. He knows the game's meaning.
At this time of year, Jewish children such as Jacob enjoy playing with dreidels, or tops, because they have special meaning and symbolism during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, which this year will begin at sundown Tuesday.
In 165 B.C.E., Hellenistic Syrians took over the Temple in Jerusalem and forbade Jews from studying the Torah - but they did secretly. When Syrian Greek soldiers checked, Jewish parents hid the Torahs and their children played the dreidel game as a cover.
After the Jewish people regained control, they rededicated the Temple by lighting the menorah, a candelabrum. There was enough oil to light the menorah only for a day, but, miraculously, it stayed lit for eight days.
Today, Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah by lighting a candle in their homes and synagogues during each of the eight days. They also recite prayers, chant songs, eat special foods such as potato latkes and exchange gifts such as dreidels.
Esti Barak, president of the temple where the five-year-old was playing, says it is important that Jewish people carry on the traditions of Hanukkah - including children playing the dreidel game - and understand their meanings.
"You cannot forget," says Barak, who was raised in Israel. "You can talk to little kids and tell them stories, but when you teach something, such as a dreidel game, they remember.
"It confirms who you are, and you don't forget history. You cannot go anywhere if you don't remember your history."
Jacob's mother, Deborah Reba, who teaches a children's Sunday school class, says the dreidel's significance is simple yet far-reaching: "It was invented to give us a cover to study Torah."
According to Kids, a magazine published by Tzivos Hashem, devoted to reviving Jewish identity in children, the game is called sevivon in Hebrew. The top is called a dreidel because of the Yiddish word drey, or "to spin."
Over the years, a Hebrew letter was added to each side of the dreidel to help people remember the significance. The letters are Nun, Gimel, Hay and Shin. In order, they stand for the Hebrew words Nes, Gadol, Haya, Sham - "A Great Miracle Happened."
Players sit around a table or in a circle on the floor. Everyone gets the same amount of "tokens," such as chocolate coins, other candy and pennies, and puts one of them into the "pot" in the center.
Then, each player takes a turn spinning the dreidel, which is made of wood, plastic or ceramic material. The Hebrew letter that lands face up determines the players' fate.
Gimel, for example, means the player takes everything in the pot. Because hay represents halb, or half, the player wins half the pot. Nun? The player gets nothing. Shin? The player puts a token in.
When the pot reduces to one token, each player adds a token. The game is over when a player wins all of the tokens.
Deborah Reba says she sometimes uses the dreidel story as a teaching opportunity in her 8-year-old son Joshua's classrooms at Gibson Elementary School in northwest Fresno.
It's the Hebrew letter that represents gantz, or whole. So, in Jacob's case, it means winning big.
At this time of year, Jewish children such as Jacob enjoy playing with dreidels, or tops, because they have special meaning and symbolism during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, which this year will begin at sundown Tuesday.
In 165 B.C.E., Hellenistic Syrians took over the Temple in Jerusalem and forbade Jews from studying the Torah - but they did secretly. When Syrian Greek soldiers checked, Jewish parents hid the Torahs and their children played the dreidel game as a cover.
After the Jewish people regained control, they rededicated the Temple by lighting the menorah, a candelabrum. There was enough oil to light the menorah only for a day, but, miraculously, it stayed lit for eight days.
Today, Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah by lighting a candle in their homes and synagogues during each of the eight days. They also recite prayers, chant songs, eat special foods such as potato latkes and exchange gifts such as dreidels.
Esti Barak, president of the temple where the five-year-old was playing, says it is important that Jewish people carry on the traditions of Hanukkah - including children playing the dreidel game - and understand their meanings.
"You cannot forget," says Barak, who was raised in Israel. "You can talk to little kids and tell them stories, but when you teach something, such as a dreidel game, they remember.
"It confirms who you are, and you don't forget history. You cannot go anywhere if you don't remember your history."
Jacob's mother, Deborah Reba, who teaches a children's Sunday school class, says the dreidel's significance is simple yet far-reaching: "It was invented to give us a cover to study Torah."
According to Kids, a magazine published by Tzivos Hashem, devoted to reviving Jewish identity in children, the game is called sevivon in Hebrew. The top is called a dreidel because of the Yiddish word drey, or "to spin."
Over the years, a Hebrew letter was added to each side of the dreidel to help people remember the significance. The letters are Nun, Gimel, Hay and Shin. In order, they stand for the Hebrew words Nes, Gadol, Haya, Sham - "A Great Miracle Happened."
HOW TO PLAY
Players sit around a table or in a circle on the floor. Everyone gets the same amount of "tokens," such as chocolate coins, other candy and pennies, and puts one of them into the "pot" in the center.
Then, each player takes a turn spinning the dreidel, which is made of wood, plastic or ceramic material. The Hebrew letter that lands face up determines the players' fate.
Gimel, for example, means the player takes everything in the pot. Because hay represents halb, or half, the player wins half the pot. Nun? The player gets nothing. Shin? The player puts a token in.
When the pot reduces to one token, each player adds a token. The game is over when a player wins all of the tokens.
Deborah Reba says she sometimes uses the dreidel story as a teaching opportunity in her 8-year-old son Joshua's classrooms at Gibson Elementary School in northwest Fresno.
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