Money Lessons from the Game of Dreidel

Money Lessons from the Game of Dreidel

While most can readily point to the dominant holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, they aren’t the only ones.

In fact, the holiday season is filled with several other holidays you may not even be aware of.

One such event is the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Also known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is an 8-day celebration commemorating the miracle of the oil during the rededication of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

 One of the most recognized and beloved traditions of Hanukkah is playing the game dreidel, and is something I do with my students every year. I firmly believe in teaching tolerance for differences and beliefs, and so I spend a great deal of time exposing my students to different cultures and traditions.

While my students have a great time playing dreidel, it is far more than just a game. In fact, dreidel is a fantastic teaching tool, especially when it comes to money.

Those of you familiar with dreidel already know its many relations to money, but for those of you who don’t, I’d like to break the mold this holiday season by focusing on a non-dominant tradition and the lessons we can learn from it.

I want to share with you money lessons from the game of dreidel.

But first, a little history lesson.

The History of Dreidel

Dreidel originally developed from a gambling game played in various parts of Europe that used a top called a teetotum.

However, the game of dreidel became solidified within the Jewish culture during the reign of the Syrian king Antiochus IV, who ruled what is modern-day Israel in 167 BC (the start of the Maccabean Revolt).

Antiochus had attempted to force the Jewish people to convert and worship the Greek gods by forbidding Jewish religious practice. With this decree, actions such as studying the Torah were punishable by death.

Although still very dangerous, the game of dreidel was developed as a shield for Jews who were illegally studying the Torah. If Syrian soldiers or officials came around, the Torah scrolls were hidden and replaced by dreidels.

Thus, dreidel originated as a way for Jewish individuals to access their religious teachings

How Do You Play Dreidel?

At its core, dreidel is a basic gambling game

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