Category: Manny Kagan

 

 

This year, the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day” national holiday coincides with my reading this week’s chapter in the Torah called Mishpatim, which translates to “ordinances”. (The Torah is divided into 52 chapters, which I read one of each week.) Last week, Torah readers were introduced to the Ten Commandments in the previous chapter. And this week, their meaning is explored.

“And these are the ordinances that you shall place before them: If you buy a Jewish bondsman, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh he shall go free, for no charge” (Exodus 27:1-2).

The word “bondsman” in this case, can mean slave. One of the definitions of the word “bond” in Webster’s Dictionary is anything that binds, fastens, or restrains. It is remarkable that the explanation of the core of our life conduct, the Ten Commandments, starts with the indication that any restraint has to be limited. Like the creation of the world, which by the Bible’s definition was done in six days, and on the seventh day there was rest. We live in a similar cycle.

We must remember the great teacher and preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr., who advocated freedom from oppression, our beliefs, our habitual behavior, the notion that “I know better” and there is “no other way”.

Slavery in America started in 1619 and was formally outlawed in December 1865, but the slave mentality continued for many more years from both former slaves and their masters.

 

 

My friend, Alex Vinokurov, passed away on January 6^th. He was only 10 years junior to me, but he called me “Papa”.

At least once a month, he would call and ask, “Do you have time?”

He expected the same answer I always gave him, “For you, I always have time.”

He would come to our office and ask my wife, “Where is Papa?”

We would go to the local Starbucks and for an hour, he would share his joys, pour out his prayers, and ask me for advice.

He was a big, burly man with a gentle soul. During his short-lived disease, he “finally” managed to lose weight. But before dying, he started to sweat, water left his body, and by the time he passed on, his body shrunk.

“Shurick”, as I lovingly called him, was not with us anymore. Or was he?

Physically, he was not (at least not in this world). In my memory, he is alive. We are the sum of our memories. We choose what to remember and what to forget.

During our life journey, we meet a lot of strangers and we get close with some of them. I am privileged to work with and mentor younger people. After a while, some move away. There are those who follow my guidance, but most have to create their own life experience. Some, while physically still alive, disappear from our sight and I might never again hear from them. What is left is the memory.

January 13^th will mark my second Bar Mitzvah, since I am turning 67 (6+7 = 13) years young. I remember the celebration of my first one. In Jewish tradition, when a boy turns 13, he is responsible for his own actions and can participate in the prayer with adults. Looking back on my life, I realized that from that date 54 years ago until today–I lived without knowing what the next day will bring, despite my preparations and going through a seemingly predictable life journey.

This thought came to mind after my very dear friend, Alex Vinokurov passed on. His cancer was diagnosed in November. After a “successful” surgery, he was ready to recover, but it never happened. We visited him on Sunday. He was weak, but holding on. Before saying good-bye, he opened his eyes, squeezed my hand, and said, “I love you”. I kissed him, and we left. Monday, before 9pm, he was gone, He was 56 years young.

Recently, we’ve heard about other people we know who are not around anymore. Some of our very close friends are also dealing with the frightening “C” word.

 

I am sad—and when I think about Alex, my eyes become watery.

But I made a very clear decision for myself. There is no need to wait for one special day a year to celebrate; every day is special and there are always reasons to celebrate life with the friends and family members.

Hope you will join me.

He made an offer: fixed for 5 years for $1,500,000. With the 30% down payment, his new mortgage of $1,050,000 plus taxes and insurance will be about $6,700/month. The rent is currently $6,000/month.

Whom do you know that might benefit from our tailored mortgage solutions?

 

 

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“In life, the ups and downs are part of the same journey.” 

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In the new Malcom Gladwell book, “David and Goliath”, (which I strongly recommend together with many other of his books), he refers to a story about Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. The story supports the message that Malcolm conveys—that in life, many of those who seem disadvantaged, find ways to overcome their “limitations” to get ahead or to just survive.

In the story, Brer Rabbit falls into a well and he entices Brer Fox to come down and to catch him. While Brer Fox jumps into a bucket which was going down, the Rabbit holds onto a rope, which was going up and is able to climb out of the well.

 

Reading this brought to mind a story in the Torah about Jacob leaving home on his life journey to find a wife among his mother’s relatives. On the way, he went to sleep:

“and he dreamt, and behold! A ladder was set earthward and its top reached heavenward, and behold! Angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold! Hashem (God) was standing over him.” (Genesis 28: 12-13)

The commentators of the Torah were puzzled: why did the angels, who were heavenly beings coming down from heaven, not come up in the opposite direction?

 

I do not pretend to understand or know the Torah, but for me the dream about “Jacob’s ladder” is an allegory for life’s (or business’) journey. In the beginning, we start our journey with high expectations and our message is going up heavenward. And then, we get a “response”, which often brings us “down to earth”. Since life or business continues, this process is repeated again and again.

 

P.S. 

Sometimes on the weekends, I travel downtown to visit photo galleries (there are quite a few at 47 Geary Street), and just hang out with my camera.

We live in Monterey Heights, a hilly area of San Francisco. Our house is on the crest of our street, thus I can go down the hill to the Muni station and get down town in about 30 minutes.

Recently, I decided to walk downtown.

To do this, I have to go up the hill first before the road starts going down again. This choice took me 3 hours to get to my destination. On the way, I visited places and talked to people I met. One man I met told me that he takes Muni to different destinations on the weekends and walks back home.

What a great idea.

 

During this walk, I discovered Mono Street, a short street that is actually an alley with stairs, where the mailman goes up and down to deliver mail. And of course, I photographed. You can see some of my photo images.

P.P.S. 

Due to the new regulations starting on January 10th, the mortgage industry is going through ups and down again. Since it is our responsibility to find a mortgage solution for you, your families, and your friends, please do not keep me as a secret.

Have a Happy and Joyful New Year!

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

From the moment we wake up, we have to make a choice. We make many choices in life; what to wear, what to eat, when and where to go on vacation, whom to marry, etc. As life progresses, the choices we make change and we choose again.

Some believe that we have a free will, while others believe everything is predestined. In the movie, “The Adjustment Bureau”, Matt Damon plays a guy who is running for congress, but what turns out is that his life is actually run by outside sources (The Adjustment Bureau), who in turn follow a pre-designed plan that is set up by the boss—the Chairman, who is the only one who can change it.

The problem comes when the hero falls in love.

At this moment, he has to make a personal choice, but his choice will affect not only his life but also the life of the other person. (You will have to see the movie to find out the outcome.)

Meanwhile, how do we know what to choose?

Rely on our gut feelings, ask others, or Google the question? That is a choice as well! The more choices we have, the harder it is to pick something.  And besides, how do we know that our choice will give us the desired outcome in the future?

During the presidential elections, we chose who to vote for. It is not only a political preference; it is an economic consequence, which affects all of us. On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd Frank Act. I am sure he had in mind what he said:

“And finally, because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes. There will be no more tax-funded bailouts — period. If a large financial institution should ever fail, this reform gives us the ability to wind it down without endangering the broader economy.  And there will be new rules to make clear that no firm is somehow protected because it is “too big to fail,” so we don’t have another AIG.

That’s what this reform will mean.  Now, it doesn’t mean our work is over.  For these new rules to be effective, regulators will have to be vigilant.  We may need to make adjustments along the way as our financial system adapts to these new changes and changes around the globe.  No law can force anybody to be responsible; it’s still incumbent on those on Wall Street to heed the lessons of this crisis in terms of how they conduct their businesses.” (President Obama, July 21, 2010)

A year ago on our trip to Paris, I bought a fancy looking pair of flat leather shoes. After a lot of walking, I came home with a pain in my heels, which did not go away. It turned out to be a common problem. After consulting with my yoga teacher, chiropractor, and our family doctor, they recommended different exercises and to wear special shoes at night or plastic boots, which would pull my toes back to release pressure. All of this helped a little, but the pain was still there.

Since we were planning our trip to Italy, I needed a quick solution—new shoes? I visited The Foot Locker, but that did not help. I do not like to wear colorful, striped sneakers with black dress pants. The insoles I bought there did not fit well in my old shoes. We were set to leave on Monday morning. On Sunday at 5:55pm (5 minutes before closing), I walked into the shoe store

“On the Run” located at 1310 9^th Ave in San Francisco. An hour later, I walked out with four pairs of shoes (including clogs to be worn at home). Two of the pairs were manufactured in Israel by the company NAOT, which in English means “nice looking and practical”—which they are.

Not only could I walk on our trip for at least 8-9 hours a day, but when we came back the pain was almost gone. The miracle was a result of the knowledge and patience from the sales person Ahn, who took time to work with me despite the late hours. The store and another one around the corner are owned by Mark Wachter. I met his sister in the store who told me that she had considered getting knee surgery, until Mark convinced her to try different shoes. The result? No pain, no surgery.

In Florence one evening, we had dinner at the Cibreo restaurant. It was a special experience. Although pricey, the food was very good and the service was superb. The staff moved very fast, sometimes they even ran. I looked at their footwear: no sneakers, but comfortable shoes. The service reminded me of our dinners in Zuni Café and Hayes Bar and Grill here in San Francisco.