Daily Archives: January 29, 2024

Book Review: Subculture Vulture, by Moshe Kasher – The New York Times

Posted: January 29, 2024 at 2:24 am

SUBCULTURE VULTURE: A Memoir in Six Scenes, by Moshe Kasher

About three-quarters of the way through his new memoir, Subculture Vulture, the writer and comedian Moshe Kasher warns that, right about now, readers might want to bail and head to YouTube: Hes about to explain the Talmud.

Kasher, whose first book chronicled his early youth, spent many of his childhood summers flying from his home in Oakland, Calif., to visit with his ultra-Orthodox father, who lived in a Hasidic community in Brooklyn. He describes swapping his As cap for a yarmulke as he prepared to live the life of Tevye the Milkman for a few weeks a year.

Despite his warning, Kasher makes short and only moderately sacrilegious work of the various holy texts and their significance. The Mishna is a written version of collected oral law, he explains. It was eventually written down when people realized the Jews werent so good at oral, he adds with, I can only imagine, a click of his teeth and a wink direct to camera. If that sort of joke isnt to your taste, hes right: Abandon ship now.

Talmudic studies la Kasher offer the same solid balance he demonstrates throughout the book. Youll probably learn something unless youve lived an identical life to his, which seems statistically impossible and laugh in roughly equal measure.

In Subculture Vulture, Kasher details his experiences within six distinct communities. First comes his account of growing up in Young Peoples Alcoholics Anonymous after landing in rehab at the age of 13. Later he immerses himself in sober partying and drug-selling within San Franciscos rave scene. He parlays his experience as a child of deaf adults in a yearslong career as a professional sign language interpreter, before a stint manning the entrance at Burning Man, and, ultimately, a career in comedy. And, of course, theres his time in Brooklyn.

These abridged accounts of his life serve as part history lesson, part standup set and, often, part love letter. My mother loves masturbation. Its kind of her thing. Farting and masturbation, he writes in the chapter about deafness. Kasher spares no details of her fondness for a particularly loud vibrator or her unabashed flatulence. (Neither of which, he reminds us, his mother can hear.) He describes being the hearing child of two deaf parents as a nonconsensual sign language interpretation internship program. Still, by the chapters end, Kashers fondness for his mother and the deaf community is unmistakable.

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Book Review: Subculture Vulture, by Moshe Kasher - The New York Times

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Palestine, the Jews, the Talmud and the Aleppo Codex | Jaime Kardontchik | The Blogs – The Times of Israel

Posted: at 2:24 am

The Jews occupied a unique geographic position in the Middle East: they lived in a strategic place, the transit point between three continents, a coveted place for all the large imperial powers of the time. They had a unique philosophy: the Jews worshiped one and only one God, declared this God to be invisible and, on top of it, proclaimed that there were no other gods. This only brought on them the ire of all the imperial powers of the time, like the Greeks and the Romans, who worshiped a variety of multiple idols. And they had a unique history: Remember that we were slaves in Egypt, parents told to their children during the Passover meal, from time immemorial. This is central to the Jewish ethos. What other people would include in their primordial mythos that they descended from slaves? This did not sit well with the great powers of that era, for which slavery was a very profitable endeavor, vital for their economy. All this unique geographic position, unique philosophy, and unique history put the Jews at odds with their surroundings. The result was that they lost their territorial center through frequent wars and became dispersed. Most historians set the origin of this dispersion (the Jewish Diaspora) in the years 66-73 CE, during the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire, that ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. However, the true catastrophic event for the Jewish people was their last revolt against the Roman Empire, in years 132-136 CE, known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt, for the name of their leader. In this last rebellion, 985 villages in Judea were destroyed and around 580,000 Jews perished. [1]

Judea under Bar Kochba rule (132-136 CE). (courtesy of the author)

After the Jewish rebellion in Judea was crushed, the Romans barred the remaining Jews from living in Jerusalem, and merged the Roman provinces of Syria and Judea, under one unified province, renamed Syria Palaestina. The origin of the name Palaestina is unclear: some identify it with an ancient people that used to live in times past in the coastal area, the Philistines. Having just eliminated the Jews of Judea physically, it seems that the Romans decided to eliminate also the name Judea from the maps. Since then, the name Palestine stuck in all the Western literature as the land (or former land) of the Jews.

After the destruction of Judea in the 2nd century CE, the center of Jewish life in Palestine moved from the mountainous region of Judea to the Galilee, what is now northern Israel. In the course of several centuries the Jews in Galilee created two monumental works that shaped for centuries the life of the Jews in the Diaspora: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Aleppo Codex.

The Jerusalem Talmud was originally written by rabbinic sages in Tiberias, a town by the Sea of Galilee, in the 4th century (a century later, a second version of the Talmud, known as the Babylonian Talmud, was written by the Jewish center in Babylon, today Iraq). The importance of the Talmud cannot be understated: with the Jewish State gone and Jews living under foreign occupation in Palestine, or in foreign lands in the diaspora, the rabbinic sages pondered the question of how to preserve Jewish life in such conditions. The answer was the Talmud: an encyclopedic compilation of myriads of examples and teachings covering all the subjects of Jewish life, from Jewish customs, to religious and civil affairs. The Talmud became for centuries the main source of Jewish survival in the Diaspora: Jews in the Diaspora followed the Talmud for guidance in everything related to earthly and spiritual affairs.

The following figure shows a page of the Jerusalem Talmud found in the geniza of the Ben Ezrah synagogue in Fustat, Egypt. (Remember the name Fustat: we will find it again when talking about the Aleppo Codex).

A page of the Jerusalem Talmud, found in the geniza (storage room) of Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, Egypt. (source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yerushalmi_Talmud.jpg )

The Aleppo Codex a special text of the Bible was written in Tiberias around 930 CE. It became the most authoritative version of the Hebrew Bible, followed by the Jews in the Diaspora.

Written Hebrew only uses the consonants: vowels are not printed. If you check the archeological remains of ancient Hebrew texts written two thousand years ago in the Land of Israel, you will not find vowels in these texts. No one needed them, because Jews lived then in Israel, Hebrew was quite natural to them, and it was clear to all how to read and pronounce the words in the sacred texts, even if no vowels were indicated in them. If you check the Sacred Scrolls of the Bible today in any synagogue over the world, there are no vowels either written in the text. So how come, Jews so far apart in time and space, today in New York, in Buenos Aires, in London, in Moscow and in Jerusalem, preserved for 2,000 years the phonetics of the Hebrew language and manage to read and pronounce the words in the Bible with such uniformity during the long centuries of dispersion in the Diaspora?

The answer can be found in Tiberias, the city at the shores of the Sea of Galilea. The Jewish sages in Tiberias came to the help of their brethren in the Diaspora: they meticulously added the vowels to all the words in a copy of the Bible, and not only vowels but also diacritical marks so people would know how to pronounce each word with the correct stressed syllable, and thus, the Aleppo Codex was born.

The following two figures show the difference between a standard Bible text you can find today in a synagogue and the biblical text as it appears in the Aleppo Codex:

text in a standard scroll of the Bible. (courtesy of the author)

Notice in the figure above that, for example, the last word in the text (fourth row, to the right) is the word Israel in Hebrew. Notice the absence of vowels, or any marks above and below the word Israel or any other word in the text.

To the right is shown a paragraph of the Aleppo Codex. To the left, the word Israel that appears in the paragraph is reproduced and magnified. (courtesy of the author)

Notice that, in the Aleppo Codex text, the vowels in the word Israel were added below the letters. In addition to the vowels, the Aleppo Codex includes diacritical marks for the correct pronunciation of the words.

The Aleppo Codex, due to circumstances described below, was not kept in Tiberias for long. It circulated between the Jewish communities in the Middle East. The following figure shows this history of its itinerary [2[).

The travel history of the Aleppo Codex (early dates are approximate) (map from: https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/hebrew-bible/travelogue-of-the-aleppo-codex/, arrows and text to the right added by the author)

The movement from Tiberias to Jerusalem in year 1030, may be related to a major earthquake along the Jordan Valley, in 1033, which might have damaged Tiberias. The movement from Jerusalem to Egypt was related to historic events in the region: The book had been caught by the Christian Crusaders, during their military expeditions in 1095-1291, and was redeemed by the Jewish community in Egypt by paying a ransom. Fustat, the city in Egypt where the Aleppo Codex was moved to after it was retrieved from the Crusaders, had an important Jewish community: The Jewish philosopher and physician Maimonides (1138-1204) lived in Fustat.

The book was later moved from Fustat to Aleppo, in Syria, in year 1375. The movement of the Aleppo Codex from Fustat to Aleppo, may be related to the deterioration of the conditions of Jews (and Christians Copts) in Egypt during the rule of the Mamelukes. It is known that severe persecution and attacks against non-Muslims happened in 1354, close to the date when the Aleppo Codex was moved out of Egypt.

The Jewish community in Aleppo had the book for almost 600 years (hence, its name Aleppo Codex), until the pogrom in 1947, when the synagogue where it was kept was burnt. During the exodus of the Jews from Syria, following the pogroms in Aleppo (1947) and Damascus (1949), the book disappeared and, somehow, found its way to the recently born state of Israel, and it is now kept in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

The Aleppo Codex, presently kept in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (courtesy of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem)

References

[1] These numerical figures were provided by the Roman historian Cassius Dio (born 150, died 235 CE), in his History of Rome, 69.14.1-2, cited in:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Kokhba_revolt

[2] Travelogue of the Aleppo Codex

Travelogue of the Aleppo Codex

Lexicon:

Geniza: storage area in a Jewish synagogue designated for the storage of worn-out Hebrew-language books and papers on religious topics, prior to proper cemetery burial.

The Cairo Geniza is a collection of some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments that were kept in the geniza of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, Egypt. These manuscripts span the entire period of Middle-Eastern, North African, and Spanish Jewish history between the 6th and 19th centuries CE, and comprise the largest and most diverse collection of medieval manuscripts in the world.

The above is an excerpt of a new chapter (Lesson 4) in my book The root of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the path to peace (February 2024 edition). The edition has also two chapters dedicated to the present Hamas-Israel war (Lessons 8 and 9). The book can be downloaded for free at:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364057784_The_root_of_the_Arab-Israeli_conflict_and_the_path_to_peace

(The book is also available in a Spanish edition, and it is also available at Amazon)

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Palestine, the Jews, the Talmud and the Aleppo Codex | Jaime Kardontchik | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

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Israel-Hamas War: Yearning for children lost before their time – The Jerusalem Post

Posted: at 2:23 am

There are moments in which the Torah we learn jumps off the page and morphs into something completely different than what appeared at the outset.

As I was searching for inspiring Torah to write for this column, I came across a beautiful dvar Torah by Rabbi Aviva Richman of the Hadar Yeshiva. It was so instantly resonant that it was as if it had been sent for this purpose.

The beginning of the Book of Exodus opens with the terrible loss of baby boys as they are cruelly thrown into the Nile. In this weeks Torah portion, as the Children of Israel are leaving Egypt, they are leaving behind their dead children mired in their watery graves.

Richman analyzes two midrashim that I had never paid close attention to because of their fantastical content. Both describe a reality in which these babies miraculously survive! However, there are significant distinctions between them that yield contrasting ideas.

In the first, the parents reunite with their children on the banks of the Reed Sea.

How do we know that the sons thrown into the Nile River went up with their parents out of Egypt? The Holy One, blessed be He, hinted to the angel appointed over the water who spit them out into the desert. They ate and drank and procreated there... and when the Children of Israel were on the banks of the sea, these sons appeared opposite them and opened their mouths and cried out, These are our fathers!

Immediately, their fathers opened their mouths [in response to this miracle] and said, This is my God and I will glorify Him. The sons [then] said, God of my father and I will elevate Him (Otzar Midrashim Minyan 1:17).

In this midrash, the glorification of God comes after the parents are reunited with their lost children on opposite sides of the Reed Sea. While the children are not part of the initial exodus from Egypt, they join the nation in this singular moment of redemption. In Richmans words, the midrash is suggesting that leaving Egypt would not be meaningful if parents had to leave their children behind.

Only now, in this moment of joyous, miraculous reunion against all odds, parents, followed by their children, recognize the greatness of God and cry out in praise. Love for God is intertwined with love between parents and children, reflecting the midrashic idea that there are three partners in the creation of a child: mother, father, and God. When the partnership between God with parents and children is illuminated, as in this midrashic moment, it is cause for exaltation and celebration of the divine.

In a parallel midrash in Exodus Rabbah, the story is told somewhat differently. The narrative begins with the daughters of Israel seducing their husbands in order to continue procreating, despite Pharaohs decree to kill the male babies. The women would give birth in secret in the fields, and the babies would be provided for by an angel sent by God to clean, care, and feed them.

The midrash in Exodus Rabbah 1:12 continues: Once the Egyptians became aware of them [the babies], they sought to kill them. A miracle was performed for them, and they were enveloped in the ground. They [the Egyptians] brought oxen and they plowed [the land] above them. After [the Egyptians] would leave, they [the babies] would sprout and emerge like the grass of the field.

Once they grew, they would come in flocks to their homes. When the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself at the sea, they recognized Him first, as it is stated: This is my God and I will glorify Him (Exodus 15:2).

In this version of the midrashic narrative, the children return to their parents after they sprout wildly in the fields. They are thus part of the exodus experience. Furthermore, as Richman explains, it is they who recognize God at the sea and, in this way, introduce God to their parents.

Their direct experience with near death and salvation gives them the ability to see Gods providence in the world before their parents, who have only just emerged from the crippling experience of slavery and the near loss of their children.

THIS COLUMN is being written on a day in which 21 families were informed of the terrible loss of their sons during the fighting in Gaza, including a young man, Ariel Wolfstal, who grew up in my community in Elazar and married his childhood sweetheart, Sapir.

Last week, our community lost David Schwartz, and on the October 7 Hamas massacre, we lost Rinat Zagdon. Three beautiful young people with so much life to live and so much love to give to their family, friends, and Am Yisrael. We are only one community mirroring the myriad communities and families who are in deep mourning.

Before this war, I would have read the midrash dispassionately, trying to understand and teach the literary underpinnings to the interpretation and the midrashs incredible ability to weave verses from throughout the Bible to enrich the narrative.

But today, when I rediscovered these midrashim, all I hear is incredible yearning for children who have died before their time to be united with their parents; to feel Gods presence; to sense salvation at times of unending darkness.

One final point. I give a weekly Gemara shiur at the home of Ariel Wolfstals mother, where we study the Talmudic tractate Bava Batra. The first chapter is about the relationship between neighbors, building walls, and the nitty-gritty of who owes what to whom, and when.

Last night, before the family was informed of the terrible news, we started learning about Reuben. His fields abut Simeons on three sides, and he decides to build fences on each side of Simeons field.

In the usual style of the Talmud, questions arose whether Simeon could be obligated to contribute to the cost of the walls. The Talmud talks about the makif (the one who surrounds) and the nikaf (the one who is surrounded). This morning, it occurred to me that those concepts have a much deeper significance. In moments of sorrow and loss, when we live in a community, we are either the ones surrounding a family in mourning (the makif) or being surrounded when we are experiencing a loss (nikaf).

While Bava Batra is filled with moments of conflict between neighbors (which is why good walls make good neighbors), those walls temporarily dissolve as we surge forward to hold, comfort, and surround those who mourn.

May the memories of Ariel, David, and Rinat, along with all of those who have fallen, be a blessing. May they help us see the presence of the divine in these moments of darkness.

The writer teaches contemporary Halacha at the Matan Advanced Talmud Institute. She also teaches Talmud at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, as well as courses on sexuality and sanctity in the Jewish tradition.

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Israel-Hamas War: Yearning for children lost before their time - The Jerusalem Post

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Roots, Midrash and Tu B’Shvat | Gershon Hepner | The Blogs – The Times of Israel

Posted: at 2:23 am

Although regardingboksersI dont give two hoots,

about thecarob trees on which they growmyminds not shut,

appreciating what helps themgrow like me, their roots.

My roots:not just midrashic explanations of me, butpeshat,

a process which midrashic explanations hardly moots,

both tastier thanboksersI dont eat onTu BShvat,

enjoying both midrashic explanations andpeshatas fruits

that arent dependent on a kashrut label such asglatt.

InWhy Jews Used to Eat Dried Carob on Tu bShvat: Bokser smells like Limburger cheese. Its also an embodiment of Jewish vitality and endurance,Mosaic.com, 2/4/15, Meir Soloveichik writes:

In the Talmud, the holiday of Tu bShvat commemorates nothing more than one in a series of halakhic deadlines related to the obligation to offer tithed portions of the years crops to the Levites in the Temple. For fruits in particular, the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of the next was marked by Tu bShvat, the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shvat. Because these laws of tithing applied only to produce grown in the Holy Land, celebrating Tu bShvat became throughout the centuries a way of connecting to the land itself. For Ashkenazi Jews, that meant eating one fruit: carob, whose name derives from the Hebrewharuv and whose Yiddish name,bokser, is short for the Germanbokshornbaum, the tree with rams-horn-shaped fruit..

In its discussion of laws dependent on the land, the Mishnah presents us with the following conundrum. Suppose a tree is planted on one of the lands borders, with its roots in sacred soil but its fruit hanging over into non-native territoryinto, in effect, the Diaspora. Is the fruit subject to tithing in accordance with the laws relating to Tu bShvat? The answer is unequivocally yes: everything depends on the roots, not the foliage.

Another talmudic ruling is also relevant here. The tractate ofBava Batraincludes a lengthy discussion of the obligations we owe our neighbors. According to one ruling, we may not plant a tree near our neighbors well because the roots, though on our own property, will extend underground and possibly contaminate his water supply. Any tree, therefore, must be planted at a distance of 25 cubits from neighboring property. But certain trees, with exceptionally long roots, must be placed twice as far away. One such tree, the Talmud stresses, is theharuv, the carob.

So, according to Jewish law, identity is defined by roots: surely, an arresting idea. After all, we moderns often assume the oppositethat identity is not predetermined but malleable, that it can be shed and replaced like a suit of clothes, that we can be whoever we wish to be. And to a certain extent that is true enough; taken to an extreme, however, such an attitude, Judaism insists, denies human nature. For man is akin to a tree in the field, Deuteronomy informs us. In the view of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, this strange comparison suggests precisely that man, much like a tree, is in fact integrally connected with his roots, and indeed largely defined by them.

The carob, says the Talmud, has longer roots than most other Israelite trees; to eat its fruit was thus, for Jews in the Diaspora, to link themselves with a land and a heritage far away, and with an identity impervious to the often inimical forces of their surrounding environment. Unquestionably, sweeter and more exotic species of fruit exist abundantly in the Holy Land today, and can be almost instantly transported anywhere in the world. But even today, to connect with ones long-ago ancestors in the land by savoring the humble carob is truly to comprehend the Psalmists confident exclamation: Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored "Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel." He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.

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Roots, Midrash and Tu B'Shvat | Gershon Hepner | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

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How much money Americans need to earn to be ‘financially independent’ – CNBC

Posted: at 2:23 am

Financial independence is a common goal for people at many different life stages.

In fact, 67% of Americans say achieving that milestone is important to them, according to a recent survey from Empower financial services.

But financial independence can have various meanings. One popular definition is having enough money to be able to stop working. A more attainable interpretation is that you don't have to rely on someone else, such as your parents or a spouse, for money.

Regardless of how they define it, Americans say financial independence is also the most important marker of overall life success, or feeling like you've financially "made it," Empower found.

It doesn't take an exorbitant salary, either. Americans say they'd need to earn about $94,000 a year on average to feel financially independent. That's about $20,000 more than the median household income of $74,580.

There are several ways people may consider themselves financially independent. A young adult who moves out of their parents' home. A subscriber to the FIRE movement which stands for financial independence, retire early who is able to live off passive income, with the flexibility to work for a lower salary or not at all.

Most people, however, define financial independence simply, Empower found. The most popular definition, chosen by 47% of survey respondents, is "no longer needing to receive money from family and friends."

"Reaching a certain net worth" (44%) and "starting to contribute to a 401(k)" (42%) were also popular definitions, according to Empower. Respondents were able to select up to three definitions.

If you're interested in achieving financial independence, the first step is deciding what it looks like for you.

"Financial independence starts with clarity," Keith Jones, senior financial professional with Empower said in the survey release. "Establishing clear financial goals provides both direction and purpose, motivating you to work towards a more secure and satisfying financial future."

If you're looking to be as financially independent as possible, a FIRE mindset might be a good idea for you. Followers typically aim for a certain net worth, known as their "FIRE number," which is the amount of money they estimate they need to have saved and invested to be work-optional.

You don't have to adhere to a specific definition of financial independence to be part of the FIRE movement. But for many followers, it is tied to the ability to retire early, which requires you to be untethered from other people and institutions, whether that's a supportive family member or an employer paying you to work.

There can be levels to this kind of financial independence, too. Jessica and Corey Fick, money coaches and personal finance content creators known as "The Fioneers," identify five levels of financial freedom. Level one is being debt-free, while level five is having enough in savings to completely replace your income.

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How much money Americans need to earn to be 'financially independent' - CNBC

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What is Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)? – Bankrate.com

Posted: at 2:23 am

The Financial Independence, Retire Early movement, or FIRE, is a group of people trying to gain financial independence by amassing enough wealth and cutting their expenses so that they can retire extremely early. Many FIRE proponents are looking to retire in their 30s or 40s.

So how do people in the FIRE movement achieve their goal, and what are the drawbacks?

The FIRE movement centers on taking control of your finances, and proponents focus on earning more and spending less. FIRE participants focus on two areas, which are really two sides of the same coin:

By saving and investing their money, participants grow an amount of money that can generate enough income to sustain their lifestyles. They use detailed spreadsheets and financial plans to model how theyll be able to meet their needs based on their income and the rate of return they can expect from their savings and investments in stocks or stock funds.

To meet their goals, FIRE participants must take on extra risk by investing in stocks, and that means understanding how the stock market works and having a brokerage account. They wont be able to rely on the low returns and absolute safety of a bank account to amass their fortune.

And by spending less, they reduce the level of savings they need in order to retire early. While some FIRE critics say that FIRE participants live a too-frugal lifestyle to reach their goal, many proponents say that theyre not making extraordinary sacrifices. In fact, they say by spending on what they really love that they actually derive more enjoyment from those things. Plus, they enjoy moving toward independence, when they can do what they truly love.

But however they approach it, FIRE participants see the lifestyle as a way to spend their time doing what they really want to do rather than what society tells them they should want.

Because of their desire to retire early, many participants wont be able to take full advantage of employer-sponsored retirement plans such as a 401(k). They may or may not be able to take advantage of plans such as an IRA, depending on whether they earn income in retirement. Instead, theyll need to save in taxable accounts or in accounts such as a Roth IRA, both of which offer access to cash (at least at some level with the IRA) without any penalties.

To achieve FIRE, followers adhere to two key principles: the rule of 25 and the 4 percent withdrawal rule.

The rule of 25 serves as a helpful tool in planning for retirement. It recommends that a person should have 25 times their yearly expenses saved up for their retirement. To use the rule of 25 to figure out your FIRE number, begin by estimating your annual expenses in retirement, and then multiply that number by 25. To put it in perspective, if your yearly expenses amount to $40,000, you should strive to save $1,000,000 for your retirement, according to the rule of 25.

The 4 percent rule is a common retirement withdrawal strategy. It suggests that retirees should initially withdraw 4 percent from their total investment portfolio in their first retirement year, then adjust this figure annually for inflation, in order to make their savings last for a 30-year retirement. This guideline intends to strike a balance between enjoying life and safeguarding against running out of money in retirement.

The FIRE movement is not for everyone. It takes a certain type of person to be able to live frugally and save aggressively. It requires a high level of discipline, commitment and a willingness to live well below ones means. It is best suited for individuals who have a high income and can afford to save a large portion of their earnings.

Additionally, it helps to have a minimalist mindset and the ability to derive happiness from non-materialistic aspects of life. However, anyone who is interested in gaining financial independence and the possibility of retiring early can benefit from the principles of the FIRE movement.

Achieving financial freedom usually doesnt happen out of the blue, but instead demands a well-thought-out strategy. This is something the FIRE community is especially committed to, often mapping out their financial journey years in advance. The movement is also really supportive of members who have started the journey, and members provide spreadsheets and other tools to help each other.

This social solidarity helps FIRE participants realize that there is a community that values what theyre trying to achieve, making it that much easier to do.

Heres a rundown of the different mindsets within the FIRE movement:

The benefits of FIRE come mostly from the financial independence component, though retiring early can be a nice benefit as well.

When you become financially independent, you no longer need a bi-weekly paycheck to survive. That is because you have amassed enough wealth that your investments can cover all your expenses.

Financial security is arguably the biggest benefit of financial independence. While there are other benefits of FIRE, they tend to be enabled by the financial security that comes along with it.

For example, before reaching financial independence, you may have no choice but to keep working. But after financial independence, you can leave the moment you say thats the last straw and still be just fine financially.

Different people define FIRE in different ways. Some say you have to stop working completely, while others include the option to work a job you care about instead of simply exchanging your time for a paycheck.

For instance, there may be a non-profit working to address an issue that is important to you. A job with the non-profit may pay less than your current job, but once you reach financial independence, you can retire from your current job. Thus, the idea is to have more options and be able to do something especially meaningful to you.

They say that time is money, but for FIRE proponents, there is nothing more valuable than time. No, not even money. And once you reach FIRE, you will no longer be obligated to exchange your time for money. Instead, you can spend time doing things you really enjoy.

That could be spending more time with family, volunteering, traveling, or whatever you are passionate about. Notice how these activities usually dont pay, and yet, most of us would consider them priceless.

Criticisms of the FIRE movement generally fall into one of two key categories:

Some early retirees, for example, may assume that they could generate the kind of returns that investors have seen in stocks over the past few years. Or perhaps some may rely on their ability to pick stocks and have had a few lucky years.

Critics also say that FIRE participants are not factoring in the longer-term costs of major expenses such as health care and housing, which have continued to increase substantially. Plus, leaving the workforce may create an employment gap that many employers will view negatively. For sure, staying out of the workforce will ding the amount of Social Security income you can draw later in life, and thats when those on a fixed income may most need the money.

These are all relevant concerns, but many in the FIRE community say they have considered these scenarios and have planned accordingly. They may cite their financial models as proof that they have been realistic, pointing to detailed projections of their income and expenses.

In any case, a major decline in stocks, which typically occurs as part of a recession, will stress-test these plans and forecasts, and may challenge the security of many early retirees.

The FIRE movement is just that: a movement. It isnt a particular decree or set of rules. However, some ways to become financially independent include:

There is a lot to like about the FIRE movement even if you dont decide to retire early. For one thing, pensions have largely disappeared in the private sector, lessening the financial incentive to stay with one employer for many years.

This has also resulted in a shift of financial responsibility from employer to employee; in many ways, FIRE is just taking an already existing trend to the next level.

And even if you choose not to retire early, FI just makes sense from a financial security perspective. Thus, everyone should consider pursuing financial independence regardless of their long-term goals. You never know what could happen due to an economic slowdown or a change in strategy at your employer. FI, and thus FIRE, lead to the sort of financial security we should all aspire to have.

The FIRE movement has attracted a lot of attention in recent years some of it negative. Yet its hard to see how people consciously spending their money and time on what they truly love is anything but a net positive, even if it does have some costs along the way.

Bankrates Brian Baker contributed to an update of this story.

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.

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Crypto Sundae The Dog $SUNDAE: Your Path to Financial Independence – Medium

Posted: at 2:23 am

7 min read

Prepare yourself for an electrifying journey that delves deep into the captivating universe of Sundae The Dog Airdrops. These digital treasures, scattered throughout the blockchain landscape, offer an enticing opportunity to claim free tokens and embark on a unique crypto adventure.

Throughout this guide, well uncover the secrets behind Sundae The Dog Airdrops and provide valuable insights on quickly navigating this dynamic landscape. Its a chance to unlock your share of the crypto wealth and set off on a thrilling voyage toward building your digital fortune.

So, get ready to explore the world of cryptocurrencies like never before, where every Sundae The Dog Airdrop is a potential step toward financial growth and excitement. Join us as we dive headfirst into this remarkable journey!

As the crypto landscape continues to evolve, Sundae The Dog Airdrops have undergone significant changes since their inception. Understanding how Sundae The Dog Airdrops have evolved and what the future may hold for this unique distribution method is essential.

In the early days of cryptocurrencies, Sundae The Dog Airdrops were relatively simple and often used to distribute tokens to early adopters or holders of a specific blockchains native coin. These Sundae The Dog Airdrops allowed projects to bootstrap their communities and gain initial traction.

Sundae The Dog Airdrops served as a strategy to garner attention for emerging blockchain initiatives and ignite a palpable buzz within the cryptocurrency realm. Early participants would receive tokens, and as the projects gained momentum, these tokens could appreciate significantly in value.

However, as the crypto market grew and matured, Sundae The Dog Airdrops began to diversify in terms of their purposes and mechanisms. While the concept of receiving free tokens remained, distributing them became more sophisticated.

In the modern era, Sundae The Dog Airdrops have evolved to serve various purposes beyond simply distributing free tokens. Sundae The Dog Airdrops have evolved into tactical instruments projects adopt to realise distinct goals. These objectives include boosting user interaction, recognising and incentivising dedicated community participants, or spotlighting novel features or products.

Some common types of modern Sundae The Dog Airdrops include:

Looking ahead, the world of airdrops continues to evolve, driven by innovation and the changing needs of the crypto industry. Some trends to watch for in the future of airdrops include:

Before we begin, navigate to the Official Airdrop Page.

Your first step on this airdrop adventure is to ensure you have a cryptocurrency wallet at your disposal. A wallet acts as your digital vault, where youll receive and store the free tokens you claim. Popular wallet options include MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Binance Wallet, and many others. Verify the safety of your wallet and confirm its readiness to receive the incoming tokens.

Each airdrop comes with its own set of rules and criteria for participation. To ensure your eligibility, visit the projects website or the dedicated airdrop platform. These requirements vary widely, from following the projects social media accounts to holding a specific cryptocurrency in your wallet. Think of it as a treasure map; you must follow the clues to unlock the rewards.

Once youve confirmed your eligibility, its time to engage in the tasks assigned by the project. These tasks are not only rewarding but often engaging and fun. These tasks may include disseminating social media posts, introducing friends to the project, engaging in quizzes, or crafting insightful blog articles and creative content to promote the project. Its like going on a digital adventure with substantial rewards waiting for you.

The moment youve eagerly awaited has arrived! After completing the assigned tasks, return to the airdrop platform and click the Claim button. Your free tokens will be seamlessly transferred to your wallet when the airdrop event concludes. Imagine it as stumbling upon a chest overflowing with precious coins, only in the digital realm.

As your airdrop journey climaxes, the final step involves activating automatic token crediting. This eliminates room for manual errors and ensures a hassle-free and streamlined experience as you reap the rewards. Automation is critical in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, and it ensures that you dont miss out on any tokens due to human error or oversight.

Now, lets look closer at the featured airdrops waiting for you. These opportunities offer free tokens and a chance to explore intriguing blockchain projects. Lets dive into the specifics:

Imagine turning a simple claim into a potential fortune with the Sundae The Dog Airdrop.

Reward: $400 worth of SUNDAE tokens

Sundae The Dog, a blockchain project making waves in the crypto space, is offering you the chance to win a staggering $400 worth of SUNDAE tokens in their exclusive airdrop. SUNDAE tokens hold immense growth potential, making this an enticing opportunity.

Participating in this airdrop allows you to acquire valuable tokens and aligns you with an innovative project poised for a bright future. Diversifying your crypto portfolio with $400 SUNDAE tokens can enhance your investment strategy.

Seize this golden ticket to free tokens and join a promising project by claiming your SUNDAE tokens today! Remember that the cryptocurrency landscape is renowned for its dynamic nature, where astute investment decisions can potentially yield significant profits.

To ensure you never miss out on these exhilarating opportunities, consider subscribing to airdrop notification services or watching cryptocurrency news websites. The cryptocurrency market is known for its rapid developments, and new chances to claim free tokens emerge frequently. Staying engaged and informed is your key to success in this dynamic ecosystem.

Airdrops serve as your gateway to the captivating realm of cryptocurrencies, offering a remarkable introduction to the world of digital assets. Following these straightforward steps, you can initiate your expedition to claim airdrop rewards today. Seize this golden opportunity to unlock valuable tokens, marking the initial steps toward accumulating digital wealth.

Embark on this exciting quest and watch your crypto portfolio thrive with every token acquisition. The treasure hunt is underway dont delay; claim your free tokens now, and let your crypto journey soar to new heights

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Salary Success: Is $94000 the Magic Number for Financial Freedom? – Study Finds

Posted: at 2:23 am

NEW YORK How much do you need to make in order to really feel like youre in a good spot in life? The average American says financial independence means making upwards of $94,000 per year, and 60 percent feel optimistic they can reach this milestone.

In a recent poll of 2,000 adults, spenders and savers say financial freedom is synonymous with resilience and independence: not needing money from family and friends (47%), reaching a certain net worth (44%), and contributing to a 401(k) (42%). The new study by financial services company Empower, conducted by OnePoll, also reveals that more than two in five define making it as reaching financial independence (44%).

Doing so is important to 67 percent of Americans, though nearly a quarter (24%) say they havent yet achieved it. Definitions of success extend beyond Americans wallets to the workplace by moving up in their career (39%) and having a job they love (37%).

Despite having financial aspirations for the future, a majority of people (72%) admit they currently stress over their finances at least once per month, and nearly one in five (17%) say they worry about money daily.

Over half (57%) of Americans say they still rely on their family and friends for financial support, especially for help paying their rent (62%), internet and streaming services (56%), and their phone bill (54%). Of those who dont feel financially independent, three in 10 (31%) are optimistic they will be in the future, while 54 percent dont think theyll ever be able to pay their bills without help. The majority (92%) of financially independent Americans say they only started to feel that way once they reached the age of 36.

No matter your age, financial independence starts with clarity, says spokesperson Keith Jones, a senior financial professional with Empower, in a statement. Ask yourself what you want and why you want it. Establishing clear financial goals provides both direction and purpose, motivating you to work toward a more secure and satisfying financial future.

The poll finds many parents believe their kids should be able to pay their own bills and expenses by the time they reach age 23. Of those with adult children aged 20 or older, two in five (40%) parents surveyed currently support them financially, more than half (53%) are dipping into their retirement savings to do so, and 49 percent say they live with their children to help manage expenses.

More than half of parents regret not having more money conversations with their children while they were growing up (57%). If they could turn back the clock and do things differently, 60 percent would have made financial literacy a priority.

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was commissioned by Empower and fielded by market research company OnePoll between December 11 and December 12, 2023. OnePoll team members are part of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).

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Early Retirement Is Just A Big Lie – Seeking Alpha

Posted: at 2:23 am

zimmytws

When I first approached the world of finance, I had a completely different attitude than I do today. I was convinced that anything that was mathematically right coincided with the correct choice to make; therefore, simply doing calculations was enough to achieve any goal.

In particular, right from the start I was passionate about FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). After all, being financially independent as soon as possible is all we aspire to when investing our money. In any case, I have noticed that in some cases the concept of FIRE is taken to extremes, and in this article I would like to discuss the problems that such a lifestyle can bring.

No one doubts that it is wise to save as a young person in order to have a nice nest egg as an adult, but it is not always the right financial choice for us.

FIRE refers to a lifestyle of reducing expenses and increasing investments to quickly achieve financial independence and the ability to retire at a young age. You can find many articles online that explain how to retire in your 40s or even 30s. There are some authors who promise you an early retirement simply by investing in a stock: my invitation is to be wary of those who promise you difficult goals with minimal effort. This is not the reality, otherwise we would all be rich.

FIRE's first problem concerns goal setting since there are no one-size-fits-all standards. What does it mean for us to be financially free? Getting around in a Ferrari at 40 or being able to cope with any unexpected expenses at 50? Much depends on the value we place on money.

The moment the goal is set, our life will revolve around it, so it is of crucial importance to do it judiciously. However, it is not easy for two reasons:

These two aspects generate considerable uncertainty and, more importantly, have a strong psychological impact over the years. When you are young, it is much easier to save and be positive, but the moment a mortgage and a family take over, unexpected expenses are the order of the day, which could jeopardize your constancy. As a result, you will be forced to reduce your investments and scale back your goals, which is not easy to accept.

In short, life is far from predictable, and in time, the goals you set in your 20s and 30s may turn into nothing more than a dream from when you were full of enthusiasm.

As mentioned earlier, the amount of money to aspire to in order to feel financially independent can vary greatly, depending both on the country of residence and the kind of life to be made once retired. For an American a good figure might be $3 million at age 50; for a poorer country $1 million would already be a lot. Be that as it may, in either case reaching this goal would involve a huge sacrifice for a person with an average income (obviously for those who are wealthy the problem does not exist). Specifically, in the case of the $3 million one would need to invest $18,237 each year and achieve an average return of 10%. And I am considering reinvested dividends.

Anticipating this by 10 years would imply an annual investment of $52,378. Basically, one would have to live with parents until the age of 40, have no family, hardly ever go out and have a good job as well. But is it really worth it?

If we were relying solely on the monetary aspect, it would be absolutely advisable to accumulate as much as possible in order to take full advantage of compound interest. Spending money or even receiving dividends (a tax disadvantageous solution) will postpone the time when you will be financially independent. However, people are not machines, and what makes sense mathematically is not always the right thing to do.

When it comes to investing, the most important thing is the psychological aspect in my opinion, since where and how much we decide to invest greatly affects the quality of our lives. Maintaining a balance and a certain serenity is what we should all aspire to, and I don't think it coincides with retiring at 40-45 years of age. You may have your $3 million at that age, but if you have completely sacrificed your best years you will probably have other problems to deal with.

Moreover, I doubt that a person with an average income can really maintain such a low standard of living for decades only to stop working at 40-45 years old. Saving as much as possible and investing for the very long term is sustainable only if the sums involved are minimal compared to the salary. Otherwise, the initial enthusiasm will gradually be replaced by a feeling of discouragement. After all, who guarantees that we will ever see the fruits of our investments? In 20-25 years, anything can happen.

The aspects that can really help you during your journey to financial freedom are only two: increase the money invested or improve the annual return.

Increasing the money invested obviously requires earning more money since saving too much can limit your lifestyle too much. In this case, it is useful to look at ourselves as a kind of investment, since the more knowledge we have, the more chances we will have to climb up the hierarchies work-wise. Spending thousands of dollars on our education instead of investing it in the S&P 500 may prove to be an even more profitable investment in the long run. So, in order to achieve an early retirement, it is also necessary to increase your knowledge: you may benefit both mentally and economically. Earning 20-30% more than the average can make a huge difference in reaching your early retirement.

The second aspect concerns the annual return, a component that can disrupt the final outcome. A small variation can lead to completely different results:

Of course, when we make an investment we hope that it will turn out better than expected and especially that it will beat the market. Anyway, we are not all Warren Buffett and that is often not the case. Investing in individual stocks rather than in a well-diversified ETF can prove to be no small mistake and may disrupt the timing of early retirement. In other words, taking big risks to get rich as soon as possible is a strategy I do not recommend for those who really care about their retirement. Wealth is a process and not an event.

For some people, getting 10% per year may not seem like much (average return of the S&P 500 over the past 30 years) but it is actually enough to create wealth: sometimes more than money, patience is lacking.

Early retirement is the dream that many pursue but few succeed in achieving. In my opinion, the reason why many fail depends mainly on the motivations that drive the individual to invest in the first place. The harsh truth is that financial markets will not make the average investor rich unless you are willing to be patient for decades. However, taking the FIRE concept to extremes can lead to a lifetime of regret, just as seeking high-yield investments can lead to substantial losses that will only make you poorer.

The right approach to operate in the financial markets is to take a long-term view, and to do this we need to look first at our psychological well-being: without it we will not be able to be consistent for decades. Assuming that the performance of the S&P 500 is similar to that of the past 30 years, it only takes a little to achieve a major accomplishment:

Since the average annual salary in the U.S. is $59,428, these seem like pretty affordable figures to me and not so high as to weigh on an individual too heavily. For those who save a little more, there would also be room for individual investments. Of course, even then you risk not getting the amount you hoped for, but at least you will not have sacrificed your whole life. Anyway, almost certainly even in the worst case scenario you will end up with a good nest egg. You won't be driving around in a Ferrari, but you can take a lot of satisfaction out of it.

Overall, I think the topic of early retirement is a dangerous fad because it generates false hopes in the average investor. Assuming there is someone who, thanks to his or her investments, can stop working before 50, he or she will not necessarily achieve the much-coveted happiness. Chasing that goal for the better part of a lifetime may have overshadowed many other aspects far more important than any amount of money. For those starting from scratch and earning average income must see the financial markets as a way to supplement their salary not to replace it and live off of it, otherwise they will most likely be disappointed. Accepting this harsh truth from a young age, I believe, is the only way to make the investment process satisfactory in the long run; the alternative is to tell ourselves a big lie that is not meant to last forever.

This article is aimed primarily at people of a young age; after all, they are the retirees of the future. In any case, I would greatly appreciate comments from someone with more experience. I think young people (including me of course) can learn a lot from those who have already faced this tortuous path.

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Lucid Dreaming & Dreamwork / Sinister Technology & the Paranormal – Coast To Coast AM

Posted: at 2:23 am

Author and journalistVon Braschleris a writer on the subjects of time, human consciousness, and energy healing. In the first half, he discussed his latest work on lucid dreaming and dreamwork. There's a rich history of ancient cultures using dreams for revelation, divine encounters, prophecies, and even physical healings, he said, adding that the Greeks built temples for people to specifically explore and cultivate their dreams. Braschler talked about the concept of dream walkers-- a Native American tradition where shamans go into an altered state of consciousness to bring back knowledge from beyond time and space. One fascinating aspect of dreams is that we may be visiting parallel realities or even other versions of ourselves, he marveled.

In a lucid dream, a person is aware that they're dreaming, and in this state, it may be possible to link up with other participants in a kind of shared or group dream, Braschler revealed. You can train yourself to have lucid dreams through creative visualization, he stated, and there are techniques related to this from the ancient Hindus. He advised that you should get into a harmonious altered or meditative state in the visualization exercise and picture yourself successfully having a lucid dream. As a technique for remembering your dreams, he suggested that after waking up, you lay quietly in bed with eyes closed and then hold and feel the dream without trying to unpack it analytically.

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In the latter half, C2C's investigative reporterCheryll Jonesshared her interview with scientific researcher, author, ghostwriter, and teacherElana Freeland. Exploring such topics as chemtrails, HAARP, and transhumanism in her books, Freeland delved into sinister agendas and paranormal connections in her conversation with Cheryll. She shared her belief that a "worldwide global technology" that includes synthetic biology controls many things in our lives, and most people are completely unaware of this. She further argued that humans are breathing in or ingesting tiny nanotechnology particles that can be controlled or surveilled at a distance by 5G and 6G systems.

Freeland told Cheryll that one of her upcoming projects is to write a book about "targeted individuals" who are being controlled and tortured by electromagnetic energies. She also shared some of her paranormal experiences, including an out-of-body episode, and an encounter with a diamond-shaped aerial object that she realized was a kind of organic creature rather than a metallic craft. She compared this to the amoeba-like beings in the sky thatTrevor Constabledocumented.

The last half-hour featured a replay from8/1/17in which space historian Robert Zimmerman reported on space technology developments.

News segment guests: Christian Wilde, Kevin Randle

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Lucid Dreaming & Dreamwork / Sinister Technology & the Paranormal - Coast To Coast AM

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