Month: November 2013

 “Focus on the future–the present is becoming the past very fast.” 

This year due to the phase of the lunar cycle, the Jewish holiday Chanukah starts on the evening of November 27. In the Jewish calendar, the new day starts on the evening to follow the process of creation described in the Torah.

“God called to the light “Day” and to the darkness He called “Night”. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”—Genesis 1/5

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the next day, November 28^th—this is where it seems the similarities end. (In 2016, Chanukah will fall on December 24^th – January 1^st. This will give me the opportunity to write about what Chanukah has in common with Christmas.) The next Thanksgivukkah will be in 77,798 years—called Chanukiah.

Many have seen the large menorah, in Union Square in San Francisco. It contains one which is lit every night during the 8 days of the holiday. At home, most people have menorahs that use candles.

The common food for Chanukah is latkes or potato pancakes, which are fried in oil. The connection with the oil has to do with the events which happened in 167 BC.

At that time, the Greek army occupied the Holy Land, and desecrated the Holy Temple, and attempted to force Hellenity, a Godless lifestyle, on the Jewish inhabitants.

A small Jewish army led by the Maccabees, liberated the temple and found one small container of pure and undefiled olive oil, which was miraculously enough to light all seven branches of the Menorah for 8 days, while new oil was harvested and produced.

The word Chanukah means dedication and the holiday is called “The Festival of Lights”.

The Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving holiday, after their first harvest in the New World in 1621. But the holiday became an annual tradition in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thursday, November 26^th the national day of Thanksgiving. That led to the first celebration and the history of the Pilgrims (and the history of the United States of America), who escaped from the religious oppression in England. Different times in place and history, the same theme—the desire to be free from those who try to impose new rules and traditions that change our way of living.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for my waistline), she cannot ship them because she doesn’t use any preservatives and the shell is very fragile.

Mary was at the location for 15 years, when suddenly she was informed that the building was going to unexpectedly be sold for $930,000. She wanted to buy the building, and to do this I was able to secure her an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan with only 10% or $93,000 as a down payment.

Whom do you know that might benefit from creative mortgage solutions?

Do not keep me as a secret.

Our reason (or excuse) to visit Venice was La Biennale di Venezia. Our daughter Alona, who is an art dealer in Paris, was at the opening and strongly encouraged us to come. It is a biannual art exhibition, which has taken place in Venice since 1895. There are two enormous general pavilions, plus small ones for the different countries in two different locations, in addition to many other exhibitions throughout the town.

This year, the show exhibited works of over 150 artists from 37 countries and was dedicated to the subject of the inner and outer world of humans and exhibited works of many unknown, yet remarkably talented artists. Some were self-taught. 

There were very interesting works of the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who started painting to overcome depression. There were other artists, who discovered their talent after having physical illnesses or disabilities. We saw a video of artists, blind from birth, who created incredible images.

There were a few artists, who claimed that they started creating art after receiving instructions from the outer world. It is impossible to comprehend what inspired them for years, day after day, to work on their remarkable craft.

What inspired great musicians and other artists to bring their work for our enjoyment?

The word inspired means—“of extraordinary quality, as if arising from some external creative impulse”. (Webster Dictionary) The root of the word inspiration stems from Latin in + spirare—meaning “to breath in spirit”. What is a spirit? When we say a spiritual person, what do we mean? Aren’t we all made from flesh and spirit? In the Torah, the first sentence contains the word spirit:

“When the earth was astonishingly empty with darkness upon the surface of the deep, and the Divine Presence hovered upon the surface of the waters.”—Genesis 1/2

The way it is written in Hebrew Ruach Elohim—means God’s spirit (which translates to Divine Presence). We say that a gifted person has a divine spark, but there is another name of the spirit, which we call soul.

“And Hashem God formed the man of dust from the ground, and the blew into his nostrils the soul of life; and man becomes a living being.”—Genesis 2/7

There, God’s spirit appears in Hebrew as Neshama, which means breath.  To confuse us even more, the next chapter called “Noah”, named after the person whom God saved from the flood, and from whose children the rest of the world was populated, describes God smelling a burnt-offering.

“Hashem smelled the pleasing aroma, and He said in His heart”—Genesis 8/21

Whom do you know that might benefit from creative mortgage solutions?

 “A moustache is what we see on the face of a man. 

*The interest rate is fixed for 30 years for 4 units. Interest rates are subject to change without notice and do not constitute a commitment to make any loan at any specific rate.

Iris is a widow. She owns a condominium and works as an engineer. Her cousin, Nora, is divorced with a child and works as a nurse. As a result of the divorce, she not only lost her husband, but also a house which sold through a short sale.

Both of them have good income and together they decided to buy a two-unit building. Though the amount of money both of them have is enough to secure a loan with 85% LTV (loan to value), Nora’s credit restricts their options.

The solution is an FHA loan, which allows borrowers who had a short sale to get new financing three years later.

First, Iris decided to refinance her condo, which she was going to rent to lower her mortgage payments by $300/month. Meanwhile, Nora simultaneously started the credit correction process.

Increasing Nora’s credit score to 740 would allow them to get a better loan AND to avoid paying mortgage insurance on an FHA loan.

Whom do you know who might benefit from creative mortgage solutions?