Minister Michaeli Lets Municipalities Potentially Run Public Transportation on Shabbat By David Israel and Over The Rainbow: Holocaust-Era Yearning For Eretz Yisrael? By Saul Jay Singer and Thousands Expected to Attend Uman Pilgrimage Despite Israeli and Ukrainian Warnings and Jack Benny vs. Groucho 1955 and What Is Bitcoin And Should It Be In My Portfolio? By Jonathan I. Shenkman and Jewish Morocco: Sorting Wheat From Chaff By Jeremy Wayne

View in browser Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com Minister Michaeli Lets Municipalities Potentially Run Public Transportation on Shabbat By David Israel The Israeli government on Sunday unanimously approved a proposal submitted by Transport Minister Merav Michaeli to transfer the power to run public transportation from the government and the Transport Ministry to the local municipalities. Under this provision, these municipalities would be able to decide whether they want to run public transportation within their boundaries. As a political move, fifty-some days ahead of a national election, it's a dynamite move, considering Michaeli is also the chairperson of the Labor party. In practice, however, this dog will need a lot of coaxing to go out hunting. Take, for instance, Israel's biggest metro area, known as Gush Dan, which includes Tel Aviv. There's no doubt the majority of Tel Aviv residents want public transportation on Shabbat. But the thing with buses and vans is that to function effectively they must invade neighboring municipalities which may not be so eager to cooperate. Not only Bnei Brak, where private cars are also discouraged from entering on Shabbat, but also its neighbor Ramat Gan, which has a large traditional constituency, and Rishon L'tzion, also a mixed religious and secular city. Same with Petah Tikvah. And some of these cities are located alongside major traffic venues, making driving a bus there on Shabbat simply impossible. Ynet called up four large municipalities about Shabbat transportation and reported that Jerusalem responded with a decisive no way, and Rishon L'Tzion refused to approve or reject the idea – while Tel Aviv was enthusiastically in favor, and Haifa, well, Haifa has been running public transportation on Shabbat since the time of the British mandate. Incidentally, the transfer of transportation decision-making powers from government to municipalities will not happen overnight – remember, this country was founded by Bolsheviks who believed in central planning. First, the municipalities will be permitted to make decisions regarding traffic lights. Only with time are they going to be given more authority. Also, since Bolshevism never goes away, it only puts on a new suit, the government will set up strict transport zones, and all the municipalities will be forced into one of those zones or another, and stay there forever, with no backsies. And so, less than two months into election fever, it's true that when the Labor transport minister makes lude suggestions about eliminating the Jewish character of the Jewish State, the other side is aiming likewise, such as the alarming headline offered by the Haredi Kikar Hashabbat: "A Grab: The decision that paves the way for public transportation on Shabbat was unanimously approved by the government." Yes, and no. The Three Musketeers at the Kotel The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember. The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave. Jewish Morocco: Sorting Wheat From Chaff By Jeremy Wayne Jewish Morocco: Sorting Wheat From Chaff | The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com | Jeremy Wayne | 15 Tammuz 5782 – July 14, 2022 | JewishPress.com Over The Rainbow: Holocaust-Era Yearning For Eretz Yisrael? By Saul Jay Singer Over The Rainbow: Holocaust-Era Yearning For Eretz Yisrael? | The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com | Saul Jay Singer | 15 Tammuz 5782 – July 13, 2022 | JewishPress.com Thousands Expected to Attend Uman Pilgrimage Despite Israeli and Ukrainian Warnings With Russia's war with Ukraine raging on, a representative from the Rabbi Nachman Foundation in Uman expects only 'the most religious' to make the pilgrimage from Israel to the grave of the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement https://www.haaretz.com/israel... Jack Benny vs. Groucho 1955 On his TV show, Jack Benny plays a contestant on Groucho's "You Bet Your Life" Program. That's Irene Tedrow in between the two masters. This is just a treasure I have to share. What Is Bitcoin And Should It Be In My Portfolio? By Jonathan I. Shenkman Bitcoin has been continuously featured in the news over the past several years. It experienced a meteoric rise in value and then recently saw its price plunge by 70 percent. Clients, friends and family members have reached out to ask me about this relatively new financial product. Many investors are wondering if it is a good time to buy some cryptocurrency for their portfolio. Here are some points to consider. What is Bitcoin? To begin, one must first understand what Bitcoin is. According to CoinDesk "Bitcoin is the world's first successful decentralized cryptocurrency and payment system, launched in 2009 by a mysterious creator known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. The word "cryptocurrency" refers to a group of digital assets where transactions are secured and verified using cryptography – a scientific practice of encoding and decoding data. Those transactions are often stored on computers distributed all over the world via a distributed ledger technology called blockchain." If you are baffled by this definition, you are not alone. Yet, this confusion hasn't stopped many folks from enthusiastically investing in and utilizing this asset. I believe it's fundamental to understand what I'm investing in before I make an investment. Since it's difficult to grasp how Bitcoin works, it has been helpful for me to understand how it differs from other investments. It is not a business: A business creates goods or services and sells them to customers. For example, Apple makes iPhones, people buy iPhones, and the company makes money. Google generates advertising revenue, Simon Properties has rental income, and Walmart sells household items. Investors can buy ownership stakes in these and all publicly traded businesses by owning stocks. As the companies generate more revenue, their stock price may go up over time, and the investor can make money. Bitcoin doesn't sell anything or generate revenue, so it is not a business. It has no cash flow: Investors can also invest in other asset classes, like bonds, to make money. For example, I can buy bonds from Microsoft, which is essentially lending Microsoft money for a period of time. In exchange, Microsoft will give me interest payments through the life of the loan. I will also get my initial investment back when the bonds mature. As a bond holder, I don't participate in the upside growth of the company, but I do get cash in return for lending my money. Bitcoin doesn't pay interest, dividend payments, or any type of cash flow to investors. It is not a commodity: Commodities like corn, coffee, lumber, and various metals are not businesses and don't provide cash flow to investors. However, they serve a practical use to society. I eat corn, drink coffee, and use lumber and various metals to build my home and automobile. Therefore, there is intrinsic value to holding these commodities. Bitcoin isn't tangible. It can't be eaten or used to build something and, therefore, cannot be classified as a commodity. Is it a currency? Bitcoin can be used for the purchase of goods or services. There has also been increasingly broader adoption among companies of accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. The question is how practical Bitcoin actually is as a form of exchange since its value fluctuates wildly. There are instruments known as "stablecoins" that peg the value of a cryptocurrency to an actual currency like the dollar. Time will tell whether this can mitigate the extreme price fluctuation for consumers and make it a practical form of exchange. Still want to invest? Be sure to manage your risk: My confusion around Bitcoin doesn't mean that the concept doesn't have merit. There are people much smarter than I am who are huge proponents of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. If you subscribe to that viewpoint, and decide to invest in Bitcoin, it's important to take a measured approach. Bitcoin is still a relatively new and unproven asset class and the questions I outlined above are real. For this reason, Bitcoin is considered extremely speculative and is not appropriate for many investors. Even for experienced investors with large portfolios, my advice is to only invest money you can afford to lose. Typically, this is five percent or less of your overall portfolio. That way, if the price goes to the moon, you will make a mint. However, if it goes to zero, it won't derail your ability to reach your financial objectives. Indirect exposure: If you find the concept of cryptocurrency interesting but are not bold enough to make a direct investment, you won't necessarily miss out on this trend. Be mindful that if you are invested in companies that adopt Bitcoin as a method of payment and develop systems to accept it more easily, you can benefit through this business decision. While I personally won't invest in any cryptocurrency directly, I know that I won't be completely missing this trend because of my indirect exposure through the stock market. Perspective is important: The most important thing to understand about Bitcoin, which seems to get lost in discussions on this topic, is whether it is necessary to include it within your portfolio. The answer for many investors is no. The purpose of investing is to achieve your financial goals and live the life you want. This can be done with traditional asset classes like stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash. While the joy one gets from discussing the price fluctuation of cryptocurrency over a hot bowl of cholent at the kiddush with friends should not be discounted, it is also not necessary to achieve your goals. It's important to keep that perspective in mind when considering whether an investment in cryptocurrency is right for you. See you tomorrow bli neder We need Moshiach now! Love Yehuda Lave Yehuda Lave, Spirtual Advisor and Counselor Jerusalem, Jerusalem  Israel 972-585043210 YehudaLave@gmail.com You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. Unsubscribe