"The Draidle Game"

[StreetScenes]

See I think it was that way a few years ago. But more recently instead of being partial to one religion, TV just tries to ignore religion, period. And they claim they're trying to be tolerant, but franticly hiding away the concept of religion is hardly a mature way of dealing with the situation. As you say, it deserves more thoughtful discussion than that.

ok fictional narrative tv, maybe. i was talking more of news shows, "news" shows, talk shows, non-fiction kind of programs. but i guess you're right. house had a couple of good episodes on religion, but that was a few seasons ago already...i'm only up to the beginning of season six (but i was very excited, b/c my fiancee can always identify actors from bit tv roles he saw years ago and i can NEVER do that, but i recognized lin-manuel miranda b/c he was on sesame street.)

 

[CensoredAlso]

house had a couple of good episodes on religion, but that was a few seasons ago already...i'm only up to the beginning of season six (but i was very excited, b/c my fiancee can always identify actors from bit tv roles he saw years ago and i can NEVER do that, but i recognized lin-manuel miranda b/c he was on sesame street.)

Oh you're right, House has actually done some pretty thoughtful episodes on the topic. Btw, did your fiancee notice William Katt from Greatest American Hero in the 2nd season episode "House vs. God.?" Just wondering, lol.

 

[Drtooth]

Of course, the multiple-beliefs discussion opens a can of worms for parents who don't celebrate any of the holidays in Elmo's special. Imagine a 3-year-old asking, "Mama--how come we don't do Christmas, Hanukkah OR Kwanzaa?" That's a lot tougher question than "How come there's no one like us on TV?" which I could answer with, "Only a few people in the whole world believe what we do, or know that anyone else does. It may not sound fair, but TV is there for most people."

Yeah, but I doubt any of those people would have bought that video anyway. It was only on TV one time, and that's where I caught it. I will say, they only talked about other holidays in passing, but at least a mention's more than anything else offers.

 

[mindy999]

Now that I think about it, they could have 'splained the game in more detail. They have mentioned in the special that if it landed on 'Nun/noon' you get nothing and that if you land on 'gimmel' you win. (I think that was it.) But they didn't really talk about the other letters on the dice. I think that would be a fun game to play if I knew all the rules.

To answer your initial question about the game itself, a dreidel is not a die it is a top. It has 4 Hebrew letters on it (Nun, Gimel, Hey and Shin) They stand for Nes gadol haya sham or translated to English: A Miracle happened there. In Israel they replace the shin with a pey to spell out Nes Gadol Haya Po or a miracle happened here.

These days it is played with candy. Each player ante's up and one person spins the dreidel. Whatever letter is displayed on top determines what you do. Everyone plays it differently but generally, if you get a gimmel you get the whole pot. If you get a nun you get nothing. Shin you have to put something in and Hey you get half the pot.

It was initially a gambling game played by adults. I imagine it is now watered down and seems pointless when you play it. But we usually divvy up all the candy at the end and eat it

-- Mindy

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

It's about time we got back to the original topic here. Lol. Thanks for that info, Mindy. It sounds like a good game to play if I ever get a chance.