About the Author


Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

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.


 

Clothes That Reveal (Purim)

You can see who someone really wants to be by the way they dress up on Purim.

 

Rights And Obligations

The Torah isn't about rights. It’s about obligations.

 

In Praise Of Judge Julia Sebutinde

In her lone dissenting view, this judge argued the absence of a credible indication of genocidal intent by Israel. 

 

Turn Saturday Into Shabbat!

The English word for Shabbat is Saturday — so named because the planet whose astrological influence is felt most strongly on that day is Saturn – Saturn’s day. But Saturn is really the opposite of Shabbat. 

 

The Worm That Turned

Some of God's signs become clear to us only when we've attained the spiritual level required to understand them.

 

Turn It Up To ELEVEN!

Why is this world  bounded by the number Ten?

 

Imposter Syndrome

Do you feel deep down like a fraud? 

 

Automatic Approval

If an inanimate object recognizing us can bring a smile to our face, imagine what a human can do?

 

Our Brothers - The Entire House of Israel

How to help alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters.

 

Why The World REALLY Hates Israel!!!

Even if you've heard many reasons for antisemitism, this is one that you never dreamed of. The Jews are the filthy rich, the filthy poor; dangerous left wing revolutionaries and capitalist blood suckers; cowardly draft dodgers and a merciless war machine. Why is antisemitism infinitely malleable and protean? This is an answer you haven't heard before.

 

The Jewish People Are One

The Jewish People are the reflection of God's Unity in this world. Just as He is One, so we must be one.

 

Solid As A Wall

"The Ten Commandments" were not given as the "Ten Suggestions" rather the bedrock on which to anchor our world view.

 

No Missing Stone

Organized religion sounds boring and conformist, but maybe there's more to it that meets the eye.

 

A Tisha B'Av Message

Giving someone 'the benefit of the doubt' does more than change your mind about them, it changes" the way they see themselves.

 

Like The Stars

Why are the Jews compared to the stars?

 

The Master Of All Pizzerias

My son's kosher lemehadrin Pizzeria "La Piedra" was just rated one of the 50 best in Asia and the Pacific. The only one ever to have made it onto this list from Israel. Here's how I congratulated him.

 

Making A Wedding On The Night After The Passing Of A Gadol

No-one wants to make a wedding on the night after the gadol hador (the greatest rabbi of the generation) passes away. But that’s exactly what happened to us. On the day of our daughter’s marriage in Jerusalem, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the gadol hador, left this world in B’nei Brak.

 

Me And My Shadow

A nazir was a man or a woman who adopted voluntary restrictions to elevate themselves. The nazirut was a kind of therapy to remove excesses, indulgence and self-centeredness. If this procedure was successful, the nazir was able to see himself exactly the way someone else would see him, without any of the ego’s self-serving bribery.

 

Becoming The Desert

No one will ever again be as humble as Moshe. But theoretically, if someone could make himself as humble as Moshe, he would be able to receive the Torah in its entirety, just like Moshe.

 

Changing To Stay The Same

A Jew is not allowed to dress like a non-Jew. But what is Jewish attire?

 

Sticks And Stones

The old children's rhyme isn't true. Words can destroy just as effectively as sticks and stones.

 

Pesach - The Sentinel

Every Pesach, we see ourselves as though we are leaving Egypt once again. How can we relate to this idea in the modern world in which we live?

 

Cover Up

What was special about the korban olah - the elevation or burnt offering - that it required special care and alacrity?

 

What A Wonderful World

Show someone how beautiful the world is and you will lift their eyes to G-d.

 

Bringing Out The Best In Others

Criticism is the worst way to get people to improve. Here's a guaranteed recipe for success.

 

The Aleph Beit Of Creation

God created the Universe with the letters of the Aleph Beit. The Mishkan, the Tent of Meeting was a microcosm of the Universe and thus if you had eyes to see all it contained were infinite permutations of the Hebrew alphabet.

 

Throw Away Your Mask! It's PURIM!

The Purim tradition is to wear masks. But it was Esther's decision to 'un-mask' herself that saved the Jewish People.

 

The Power Of Forgiveness

A childless couple finds out why Hashem is withholding from them the blessing of children.

 

The Giving Heart

It's axiomatic that G-d is perfect in every way and therefore lacks nothing. If so, how can the Torah command the Jewish People to 'give' Him a gift?

 

Are You A Player Or A Supporter?

There are two ways to go through life - as a player, or as a supporter. Which are you?

 

Hail To The Chief

"You shall not have other gods before Me." Why did the Torah add the two words 'before Me?' Why didn't it just say, "You shall not have other gods?"

 

Higher Than The Angels

The word for an angel in Hebrew is the same as for a wild beast - "chaya." What is the connection between the two?

 

Belief In Belief

Belief is not like an on/off switch. It is a character trait that can be weakened or strengthened.

 

Two Questions - One Answer

If Moshe had ten names, why was 'Moshe' the only name that Hashem called him? And why didn't Yocheved, Moshe's mother, hide him somewhere more secure than the river Nile? Two questions with the same answer.

 

The Enigma Code

Yaakov and Yosef gave the Jewish People a secret code so they would recognize the redeemer who would take them out of Egypt. But even the best codes can be broken - what made this code unbreakable?

 

The Scrapbook Of Eternity

The Hebrew word for 'life' is a plural noun. Why?

 

"It's Nothing?"

Saying sincerely, "I forgive you" is sometimes more difficult than saying "Sorry." But it's just as important.

 

Dreaming The Dream

Jews have always been dreamers. Why is it that so often our dreams don't come true?

 

How Long Is The Coast Of Britain?

Life's difficulties are proportionate to the scale you give them.

 

Life After Life

The most certain thing in life is also the most frightening. But death is really no more than a birth into another existence.

 

The Lobbes

The word "Lobbes" or "Lobbus" is part of the vernacular of British Jews, but few Jews in the United States have ever heard it. If one can say such a thing - Yaakov Avinu was a 'bit of a lobbes.

 

The Speed of Time

Why is it that time seems to go faster the older we get?

 

At The Heights Of The Universe

God gave us an enormous power: Our every action can send positive energy to the heights of the Universe, and from there that energy descends to this world to heal and to bless.

 

War Of The Worlds

In Parshat Lech Lecha, the Torah devotes a whole chapter to a seemingly unimportant Canaanite war. Why?

Parsha: What's In A Name?

The three sons of Noach (Noah) represent three world views: "The world is what I can feel." "The world is what I can know." And "The world is more than I can know." Their three names reveal this.

Parsha: Why Are The Prayers Of Yom Kipur So Repetetive?

We confess ten times on Yom Kippur for our sins, and we seem to say the Thirteen Attributes of God's mercy over and over again. Is all this repetition really necessary?

Parsha: Allegiance To The Monarch

Last year was the Shmitta (Sabbatical) year. When the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) stood, at the end of the Shmitta year during the festival of Sukkot, the king would read from the Torah to the entire nation. This mitzva symbolized his kingship. Is it mere coincidence that the year of the coronation of King Charles III coincides with this mitzva?

 

Charles III -The Last Circumcised King?

Hitler said, "Conscience is a Jewish invention. Like circumcision it mutilates man..." What is the connection between conscience and circumcision?

Parsha: It's Not What You Say...

Apparently, the Chafetz Chaim zt"l, was not a brilliant orator, however he was extremely compelling to listen to. What gave him this power?

 

As Lovely As A Tree

The Torah prohibits planting trees in the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. Why?

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