The Secret of the Dreidel: A Snapshot of Jewish History

Dec 26, 2019
by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

More than a children's game, the little dreidel contains the story of the Jewish people and the history of the whole world.

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Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

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In 1972, Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair opened SARM Studios the first 24-track recording studio in Europe where Queen mixed “Bohemian Rhapsody”. His music publishing company, Druidcrest Music published the music for The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1973) and as a record producer, he co-produced the quadruple-platinum debut album by American band “Foreigner” (1976). American Top ten singles from this album included, “Feels Like The First Time”, “Cold as Ice” and “Long, Long Way from Home”. Other production work included “The Enid – In the Region of the Summer Stars”, “The Curves”, and “Nutz” as well as singles based on The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy with Douglas Adams and Richard O’Brien. Other artists who used SARM included: ABC, Alison Moyet, Art of Noise, Brian May, The Buggles, The Clash, Dina Carroll, Dollar, Flintlock, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Grace Jones, It Bites, Malcolm McLaren, Nik Kershaw, Propaganda, Rush, Rik Mayall, Stephen Duffy, and Yes.

In 1987, he settled in Jerusalem to immerse himself in the study of Torah. His two Torah books The Color of Heaven, on the weekly Torah portion, and Seasons of the Moon met with great critical acclaim. Seasons of the Moon, a unique fine-art black-and-white photography book combining poetry and Torah essays, has now sold out and is much sought as a collector’s item fetching up to $250 for a mint copy.

He is much in demand as an inspirational speaker both in Israel, Great Britain and the United States. He was Plenary Keynote Speaker at the Agudas Yisrael Convention, and Keynote Speaker at Project Inspire in 2018. Rabbi Sinclair lectures in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy at Ohr Somayach/Tannenbaum College of Judaic studies in Jerusalem and is a senior staff writer of the Torah internet publications Ohrnet and Torah Weekly. His articles have been published in The Jewish Observer, American Jewish Spirit, AJOP Newsletter, Zurich’s Die Jüdische Zeitung, South African Jewish Report and many others.

Rabbi Sinclair was born in London, and lives with his family in Jerusalem. He was educated at St. Anthony’s Preparatory School in Hampstead, Clifton College, and Bristol University.

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Comments (4)

(4) Shannon White, December 30, 2019 2:20 AM

Really enjoyed the story of the Dreidel . I am an American who happens to have two of these history telling toys. I love how a toy represents such a full story of the Jewish people.

(3) Hinda Sarah, December 29, 2019 7:18 PM

Happy 8th Day Chanukah

Fascinating article. Amazing what we can learn from the little dreidle. Thank you Rabbi Sinclair for enlightening us.

(2) Alexandra Yehudit, December 29, 2019 6:11 PM

Happy Chanukah, dear Jewish nation!

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful video

(1) Anonymous, December 29, 2019 2:22 PM

As Emily Dickinson wrote...

I had a little dreidel
I dropped in the soup
And when poor Daddy had some
Our father chipped a tooth

stub

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