Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair
Belief in Belief – Parshat Bo
Belief is not like an on/off switch. It is a character trait that can be weakened or strengthened.
Hidden Miracles Part 1 (Jewish Understanding)
If a miracle is an open manifestation of God's dominion over Nature, how can there be hidden miracles?
Two Questions, One Answer – Parshat Vaera
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 Greatest Truth (Jewish Understanding)
The heights of redemption come from the depths of exile.
The Enigma Code – Parshat Shemot
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 – Parshat Vayechi
The Hebrew word for 'life' is a plural noun. Why?
It’s Nothing? Parshat Vayigash
Saying sincerely, "I forgive you" is sometimes more difficult than saying "Sorry." But it's just as important.
Tenth of Teves (Jewish Holidays – 10th of Teves)
It’s a Small World Afterall.
Torah Versus Hollywood
Chanukah Event 2022
Chanukah Get Delighted!
The OHRchestra
Dreaming the Dream – Parshat Vayeishev
Jews have always been dreamers. Why is it that so often our dreams don't come true?
Chanukah and the Honey Bee (Jewish Holiday – Hanukkah)
The honeybee is the only creature that is tameh, but it produces something tahor, kosher, Honey. It is the symbol of how the self-involvement of this world can be sublimated to a higher connection.
How Long Is the Coast of Britain? – Parshat Vayishlach
Life's difficulties are proportionate to the scale you give them.
The Secret of the Dreidel (Jewish Holidays – Hanukkah)
Everything in Judaism has depth, even a little spinning top.
Life After Life – Parshat Vayetze
The most certain thing in life is also the most frightening. But death is really no more than a birth into another existence.
Hanukkah – Into the Light (Holidays – Hanukkah)
Who Are The Children of Understanding That We Sing About in Maos Tzur, and Other Hanukkah Topics.
The Lobbes – Parshat Toldot
Lobbes" is a Yiddish word that British Jews are familiar with, but I've met few American Jews who know what it means. What is a 'lobbes" and what does it have to do with Parshat Toldot?
Ishmael And Eisav, The Two Legs Of Exile (Jewish Understanding)
Why are the Arabs so successful in turning the world against the Jewish State?
Leading a Double Life (Jewish Understanding)
Judaism is about turning the present into the future before it becomes the past. The couples that are buried in the Cave of Machpela exemplified this idea.
The Speed of Time – Parshat Chayei Sara
Why is it that time seems to go faster the older we get?
Surviving In Sodom (Weekly Parsha – Parshas Vayeira)
Beneath the great evil of Sodom, there was a universal truth.
At the Heights of the Universe – Parshat Vayera
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.
Is It Better to Travel Hopefully? (Weekly Parsha – Parshas Lech Lecha)
Robert Louis Stevenson said, “It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive.” Parshat Lech Lecha teaches us that failing to see something through to the end can be one of the most destructive things in a person's life.
War of the Worlds – Parshat Lech Lecha
In Parshat Lech Lecha, the Torah devotes a whole chapter to a seemingly unimportant Canaanite war. Why?
What’s in a Name? – Noach
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.
The Hum of the Universe – The Month of Tishrei
If you have the ears to hear, there is no silence at the heart of silence. There is music. A song being sung to the Creator of all.
The Shadow of Faith – Sukkot
Why do we refer to 'faith' as a shadow?
Why Are the Prayers of Yom Kippur So Repetitive?
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?
Allegiance to the Monarch – Parshat Vayelech
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?
Return of the King – Rosh Hashana
When the world at large believed in a God, kings held the power of life and death. As the world in general turned aside from a belief in God, so the power of the monarch waned. What is the connection between the two?
Shofar – The Breath Of Life (Jewish Understanding)
Chazal teach that when Hashem hears the Shofar, he rises from the Throne of Judgement and sits on the Throne of Mercy. How does the Shofar do this? (Pesikta 23:3; Vayikra Rabba 29:10)