THE AGRICULTURAL CYCLE REVEALS SPIRITUAL PATTERNS

I dedicate this blog post to Michael Hargraves who passed away on Thursday. See epilogue*

This past Thursday marked the beginning of both Shavuot and Pentecost—a timing that has been on my mind as I reflect on how Hashem's appointed times reveal the way, the truth and the tree of life. 

On Shavuot, Israel stood at Sinai and received God’s Torah written on stone, establishing the covenant nation through Moses, the Father’s servant (Exodus 19–20; Leviticus 23:15–21). 

On Pentecost, the disciples gathered in Jerusalem and received the Holy Spirit. The Torah was written on believers' hearts. Yeshua, promised God’s indwelled Spirit to comfort and counsel us. (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26–27; John 14:16–17, 26, Acts 2:1–4, 41). 

Shavuot is explicitly tied to the grain harvest: it begins with the waving of the first sheaf of barley (the omer offering) on the day after the Passover (Leviticus 23:10-11), and concludes fifty (Pentecost) days later with the presentation of two leavened loaves, a peace and fellowship offering made from the firstfruits of new harvest. (Leviticus 23:15-17, 20). 

In Hebrew, "firstfruits" is Bikkurim (בִּכּוּרִים). It comes from the root word bakar, signifying priority and the "first" or "choicest" of everything.

The wave offering ritual—where the priest lifts and moves the sheaf or loaves before God—acknowledges that the firstfruits belong to the Lord. 

Lifting Up

In the Torah portion following Shavuot, Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-22), the Priestly Blessing petition's God to "lift up" His countenance" (Numbers 6:26).  

At Pentecost, the spiritual harvest unfolds in parallel. The newly Spirit-filled community breaks bread together in fellowship (Acts 2:42, 46). Just as the wave offering presented the firstfruits of the field to God, Pentecost presents the firstfruits of the Spirit.  

The lifting motion of the wave offering and Priestly Blessing find its counterpart in Yeshua’s ascension, where He lifts His hands to bless the disciples before being taken up (Luke 24:50-51)—a priestly act of presenting Himself as the firstfruits to Hashem, thus enabling the Spirit’s outpouring.  

Thus, the wave offering of grain at Shavuot is a shadow: a physical presentation of firstfruits that points to the substance at Pentecost. The grain that feeds Israel’s body and the Bread of Life that feeds the church, both rooted in the same pattern of firstfruits presented, lifted up, and blessed. The Lord provides. 

All of creation testifies. Nature is a witness that speaks without words, revealing order and purpose. Seasons change reliably, ensuring fields produce food for all living things. The rain, sun, and soil work together in a continuous cycle of renewal.

Counting 

The Torah fixes Shavuot by counting seven (sheva שֶׁבַע) weeks (shavuot שָׁבוּעוֹת) from the day after the Sabbath of Passover until a holy convocation (Leviticus 23:15–16, 17–21).  The 49 days of counting is intentional spiritual preparation to receive the Torah at Sinai. 

An intentional mindset (kavanah כַּוָּנָה) transforms external action into meaningful relationship with God. Intention transforms an ordinary situation, moment or act into something holy. Intention elevates (naso) the act from routine to relationship. That is key to understanding the Nazarite vow, the Priestly Blessing, an agricultural harvest and a life lived with intention. 

With kavanagh (intention) even a simple daily act can become set apart. Kavanagh transforms the agricultural rhythm into Shavuot and waiting in Jerusalem into Pentecost. Without kavanah, even a religious act or prayer can feel like keva—a rote, mechanical routine.

Receiving the Word—Sinai and the Spirit  

At Sinai on Shavuot, God gave His Torah written on stone, establishing Israel as His covenant nation (Exodus 19–20).

Yeshua’s disciples waited through that same 49-day window from Passover to Pentecost, as He instructed them to remain in Jerusalem until they would be “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4–5). The Spirit fell when “the day of Pentecost had fully come” (Acts 2:1)—the identical calendar point counted from Passover.  

 At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit writes the Torah on His followers hearts, fulfilling the new-covenant promise that God will “put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26–27; 2 Corinthians 3:3). Yeshua had promised this very thing: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17), and “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things” (John 14:26).  

The Stark Contrast—3,000 Judged vs. 3,000 Saved  

When Moses descended from Sinai with the tablets, he found Israel worshipping the golden calf, and about three-thousand men were killed that day (Exodus 32:28). Yet at Pentecost, after Peter proclaimed that Yeshua had risen, those who received his word were baptized, and about three-thousand souls were added to the church on that day (Acts 2:41), which Paul later identifies as the "firstfruits" of the Spirit’s work. One scene marks the tragedy of worshipping empty idols; the other, the triumph of Spirit-empowered life.  

Parshat Naso (Torah portion)
Artwork print by Darius Gilmont 

Parashat Naso—Lifting, Separation, and Blessing  

The Torah portion read at the end of shavout has profound thematic connections.  It is called Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21–7:89).  Naso opens with “Naso et rosh” (lift up the heads) of the Levitical families (Numbers 4:21–22). Naso has a dual meaning "the imperative to count." Moses is ordered to take a census. Each head is counted. Each person matters. 

According to great rabbis, Parashat Naso teaches that every single person is uniquely valued by God. Rather than using standard verbs for "counting" (like lispor), the Torah uses the phrase "naso et rosh," which translates to "lifting the head". This underscores a powerful concept: God counts us to elevate us, ensuring that in a massive crowd, no individual gets lost or reduced to a mere statistic.  

Parashat Naso's implication of a personal relationship is echoed in the message of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit.

Naso is the longest Torah portion at 176 verses.  The structure of Psalm 119, with 8 verses for each of the 22 Hebrew letters is also 176 verses. The arrangement of Naso’s verses are seen as expressing a Torah that transcends nature, linking the number 8 (the supernatural) with the 22 letters of the aleph‑bet.

This interesting "176 verses" connection between Parashat Naso and Psalm 119 might seem random, until you realize the King David was born and died on Shavuot/Pentecost.

Psalm 119:176 reads: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments."

Parsha Naso also includes the Nazirite vow—a holy separation that includes abstaining from wine, symbolizing joy turned to holiness (Numbers 6:1–21). It culminates in the Priestly Blessing.

In Parashat Naso, Moses is given the Priestly Blessing to act as a physical and spiritual conduit for God's divine love, protection, and peace to flow directly to the people. This blessing is to be said and recieved with profound intention to create relational bond between Hashem and His people Israel.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” 

Yeshua’s Priestly Role

In Parshat Naso we find the Nazirite vow taken by someone making a voluntary commitment of intense dedication to God derived from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated." A Nazirite intentionally a holy lifestyle, set apart from the world.

Yeshua is historically and theologically referred to as a "Nazarene" (from his hometown of Nazareth). Followers see Him as the ultimate fulfillment of what a Nazirite represents: Perfectly Consecrated, separated unto God's will, living a sinless life for the salvation of humanity.  Yeshua serves as both the perfect sacrifice and eternal High Priest. (See Hebrews 7:26). In Garden of Gethsemane, just before the crucifixion, Yeshua assumes the priestly role of intercessor, praying for the Father’s will to be done and for the salvation of those given to Him. In doing so, He is mirroring the kohanim who invoke God’s name upon Israel to bring protection, grace and peace.  

Pentecost as the Fulfilled Shadow of Shavuot  

1. Passover → Shavuot (Torah): redemption by blood, counting seven weeks, first-fruits and peace offerings, holy convocation at Sinai.  

2. Passover → Pentecost (Gospels/Acts): cross and resurrection at Passover, Yeshua’s covenant-cup and Gethsemane prayer, waiting for the Spirit, the fiftieth-day outpouring that forms a first-fruits community.  

3. Naso in that frame: lifting up (naso), separation (Nazirite), and the Priestly Blessing that places God’s name and peace upon His people.  

Conclusion

Both holidays, Shavuot and Pentecost, are coupled. The agricultural cycles that are woven throughout the bible. In ancient Israel, agricultural seasons served as a metaphor—linking the growth and gathering of crops to God’s cultivation and gathering of His people. This agricultural metaphor isn't incidental; it is intentionally woven into the very fabric of how Scripture presents His redemptive rhythm. God links the physical land and its harvest to the spiritual gathering of His people. 

Everything is of God. the sun and moon, the earth and water, the seasons, the fish and animals, the seeds and the harvest. it all belongs to God.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein—Psalm 24:1

Scripture affirms, then the agricultural appointments He established—Shavuot’s wave offering of firstfruits grain (Leviticus 23:10-11, 15-21) and Pentecost’s gathering of firstfruits souls (Acts 2:41; Romans 8:23)—are not mere metaphors but declarations of His ownership over both field and flock. The firstfruits are presented to the One to whom all harvest ultimately belongs.

*Epilogue:

Michael Hargraves Obituary

In Jewish tradition, passing away at the start of a major holiday like Shavuot is considered a highly significant and spiritually special departure. While all major festivals carry deep meaning, passing away precisely as Shavuot begins holds unique theological weight, practical legal implications, and historical connections.

The Sign of a Righteous Soul (Tzaddik). In Jewish belief and teaching, the timing of a person's death is rarely seen as a random coincidence. Entering the Feast: Passing away right as a holiday begins means the soul departs this world at a moment when the physical universe is transitioning into a state of elevated holiness and joy.

There is a widespread traditional belief that individuals who pass away right before or at the start of a major holy day (such as Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, or Shavuot) are Tzaddikim (singular: Tzaddik or Tzaddika), meaning exceptionally righteous people.

Shavuot has a deeply rooted connection to King David, who is one of the most central figures in Jewish history. King David was born on Shavuot and passed away on Shavuot.

SUKKOT, JONAH AND THE DAY OF THE LORD

The Book of Jonah does not end with a tidy resolution; it ends with God’s probing question to the reluctant prophet:

“Should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? Jonah 4:10‑11, KJV

Jonah sits in his booth east of Nineveh, waiting to see whether the judgment he proclaimed will fall on Israel’s enemies. The narrative leaves us hanging—Jonah’s anger, God’s mercy, and the fate of the city all suspended in that single question. For nearly 2,500 years readers have been invited to sit with Jonah in his sukkah and wrestle with the tension between divine justice and divine mercy. That open‑ended pause is the perfect launchpad for seeing how Jonah’s waiting booth points forward to the final pilgrimage feast, the Feast of Tabernacles and its ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah.

1. Dwelling in Booths After the Exodus  

God commands Israel:  

“Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:  That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”  Leviticus 23:42–43, 

Shmura Matzah from Isaiah

The Israelites slept in tents, not booths,hi when they traveled in the wilderness. Balaam declared, "How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!" Numbers 24:5, KJV. But there was a time when the children of Israel did dwell in Succoth. When Israel was born as a nation, right after the Lord our God brought us out of Egypt.

"And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies." Exodus 12:51, KJV. 

When the nation was brought out bondage in Egypt we went to Succoth. We dwelled in Succoth for seven days and eat the lechem oni (bread of affliction), Matzah.

“And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.”  Exodus 12:37, KJV 

“Succoth” means “booths.” The place–name itself encodes the theology of Sukkot: as soon as Israel leaves the power of Pharaoh. There they are in a temporary shelter meant for animals, open to the stars, with no means of provision or security. 

Sukkot, the feast, permanently memorializes that first season of living under His protection in vulnerable dwellings.  

As the Israelites stepped out of Egypt, they faced a daunting wilderness ahead: no stores of food, no reliable sources of water, no army to defend them, and no clear map of where they were going or what dangers lay ahead. Their entire survival depended on God’s daily provision—manna from heaven, water from the rock, and His guiding presence as a pillar of cloud and fire. The Feast of Sukkot reminds each generation that God made Israel to dwell in booths when He brought them out of Egypt, that they might know He is the Lord their God.

2. God’s Glory at Succoth and Judgment on Egypt  

Right after they move on from Succoth, God’s visible glory begins to lead them:  “And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.  

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:  

He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  Exodus 13:20–22, KJV

From the Succoth‑stage onward, the Shekinah presence goes before them, guiding them directly to the sea. At the Red Sea, that same presence both protects Israel and destroys Pharaoh's army that set out against them:  

“And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:  

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.” Exodus 14:19–20, KJV

Then Israel watches as God parts the waters:  

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  

And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”  Exodus 14:21–22, KJV

The same presence that sheltered Israel at Succoth makes a way for them, and then guards that way. 

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians…the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.” Exodus 14:26–27, KJV  

So the “booths” of Succoth and the glory–cloud belong to one movement. God shelters His people and brings judgment on their oppressors. 

3. Jonah in His Sukkah – Israel Waiting for Judgment  

With that background, Jonah 4 reads like a prophetic replay. After his message to Nineveh, we read:  

“So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.”  Jonah 4:5, KJV 

There is the prophet of Israel, sitting in a sukkah, watching and waiting for judgment to fall on the enemies of Israel—just as Israel once watched God’s glory judge Egypt at the sea. Iőn that sense, becomes a picture of Israel in its booth, expecting God to repeat the Exodus pattern: shelter for us, destruction for them.  

But God exposes Jonah’s heart and reveals His own:  

“Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured…  

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” Jonah 4:10–11, KJV 

Just as He had pity on ignorant Nineveh, He will later have pity on those who crucify His Son.  

4. The Sign of Jonah  

Approximately 750 years later, during the ministry of a thirty year old Jewish carpenter and rabbi, when the leaders of Israel go to him and seek a sign, Yeshua points directly to Jonah:  

“But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:  

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the great fishes belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”  Matthew 12:39–40, KJV

He then contrasts Nineveh’s repentance with Israel’s hardness:  

“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:41, KJV  

What God did for Nineveh—sparing a gentile city when it repented—He does climactically at the cross. In the very moment of judgment, Yeshua extends mercy:  

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”  Luke 23:34, KJV  

And to the repentant thief:  

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:43, KJV

The pattern is the same: a people who “know not” are offered mercy in the very shadow of judgment, just as Nineveh was.  

It's as though Yeshua is reminding the Jewish leaders who condemned him that they had a responsibility to bring the light of the Torah to the world, and without that light to know better, the best "the world" could do was repent before the God of Israel in a time of judgment. 

5. The Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, Yet to Be Fulfilled  

The Feast of Booths is viewed as the ultimate prophetic fulfillment that marks the Messianic Kingdom, the ingathering of the nations, and God eternally dwelling with humanity.

To those who believe Yeshua is the Messiah, Sukkot, unlike Passover and Shavuot, is widely seen as still awaiting its full Messianic realization. Passover points to the Lamb slain; Shavuot to the giving of the Torah and the Spirit. Sukkot points forward to God dwelling with His people openly and finally, and to the last great judgment.  

We know from the New Testament that Yeshua will return to judge and to reign:  

“…the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.”  2 Timothy 4:1, KJV  

That is Exodus and Jonah together on a cosmic scale:  

- Like Exodus, His glory will appear, to shelter His people and to overthrow all that oppresses them.  

- Like Jonah 4, Israel (and the nations) wait for judgment—yet God’s heart leans toward mercy for any who repent.   

6. The personal language of Sukkot—“I am the LORD your God”—finds its New Covenant echo in Thomas’s confession after the resurrection:  

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” John 20:28, KJV)

What was foreshadowed in Israel dwelling under fragile booths with the glory above them is fulfilled when the risen Yeshua stands before the disciple Thomas who claims Him personally as “My Lord and my God.” The God who shielded them at Succoth, who judged Egypt at the sea, and who spared Nineveh in Jonah’s day is now present in the risen Messiah, offering mercy before the final Sukkot‑judgment to come.  

THE NY TIMES IS AT IT AGAIN

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

A total Trump hater recently forwarded me another NYT Trump "hit piece." I recieve them frequently. This person consumes anything that feeds his hatred of Trump and Bibi. 

The most recent hit piece was about Trump's spending. You know Trump’s to blame for our national debt, right? 

As for budgets deficits and debt, here is an interesting trivia Fact: In percentage terms, the national debt increased the most under Abraham Lincoln. 

The broader point I want to make is that Lincoln and Trump have some big things in common. The Democrats hated Lincoln too. It is difficult to say which man they hated more. Lincoln's own party had fractures too with Radical Republicans. 

The Left Loves to Mock Trump’s Faith.

Trump’s call for National observances of Shabbat and prayer have enraged Progressives.  They don't think Trump has prayed a day in his life. 

As a young man, Lincoln was sometimes described as a village atheist by acquaintances. Abraham Lincoln faced significant criticism and political attacks for his lack of traditional religious affiliation. Notably, Lincoln never formally joined any church. By the same token, Trump is a non-denominational Christian. 

As Lincoln dealt with the immense burdens of the Civil War, his personal writings and speeches demonstrated a profound, if unconventional, reliance on divine providence. It is fair to say that the same can be said of Trump.

Have you noticed that the ones scoffing at Trump’s faith, don't have faith themselves? 

The Left questions Trump’s "Faith" and everything else! 

Large segments of the press—particularly Democratic-leaning newspapers—were intensely hostile toward Abraham Lincoln. Most leading newspapers were anti-Lincoln in 1860. Democratic papers attacked him relentlessly. 

The Media Research Center has reported that from last June 1 to Sept. 30 it monitored the TV network evening news programs on ABC, CBS and NBC and found that 92 percent of news coverage of President Trump during this period was negative. The center called this “the most hostile coverage of a President in TV history.”

This quote sums up well:

"Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln share traits as outsider leaders who confronted intense institutional resistance, communicated directly with the public to bypass traditional media, governed deeply divided nations, and embraced economic nationalism to protect domestic industries." 

Trump himself is fixated on Lincoln. You can understand why. I'm sure Trump delights to think that Lincoln is enjoying the refurbishment of the reflecting pool his Memorial looks over. Lincoln was said to like blue. 

There is no doubt that Trump will be speaking about Lincoln at the dedication of the reopening of the The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. before the 250th July 4th 

In approximately 6 months we will be half way through Trump's term. Is that any concilation? Depends how you see it. 

The last time Trump was leaving office I took these photos of the Lincoln Memorial.  I went to Washington D.C. for the January 6, 2021 Trump Rally. 

I love this photograph. I took it from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the early evening. There was a light drizzle that night; the granite and marble on the many monuments was glistening. 

The country was so divided and there were so much hostility against Trump supporters. I was seeking to be in a place where I could feel some peace. I wanted to sit at Lincoln's feet for inspiration and look out over Lincoln's reflecting pond at the Washington Monument. 

Below are Abraham Lincoln's words inscribed on the wall to the right of Lincoln's statue.

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

The photo below I took of my Shabbat window on Friday January 1, 2021, a few days before taking the train to D.C.  I remember feeling so hated because I was going to the rally. My family, including my mother, was furious at me for being a Trump supporter. Only my father accepted my choice. Little did I know at the time. 

Epilogue:

I blogged about my trip to Washington at that time. I saw something very different than you saw in the news those days. 

A Sight to be seen - January 4, 2021

Being Part of History - January 5, 2021

Debrief of my January 6th Experience

THE FLIP SIDE OF INFLATION

Intoduction

The flip side of inflation may be that while cash loses purchasing power, assets gain it. We usually think of inflation as a burden because wages lag, savings shrink, and everyday costs rise. But for those holding stocks, real estate, gold, crypto, or other appreciating assets, inflation can create a different effect: it can make them who feel wealthier, borrow more easily, spend more freely, and acquire more aggressively. In that sense, inflated assets may not merely reflect economic growth. They may be helping to drive it.

Inflated Assets as a Hidden Engine of Economic Expansion

I have been observing a dynamic that may be underappreciated in the way we think about the modern economy. We often speak about inflation as the rising cost of goods and services, and we often say that cash is losing value. But at the same time, many asset classes have risen dramatically in value. Stocks, real estate, gold, crypto, and other stores of wealth have appreciated, sometimes far beyond the growth of ordinary wages or cash savings.

That appreciation does not remain isolated on a balance sheet. It changes behavior. It changes borrowing capacity. It changes confidence. And in that sense, inflated assets may be quietly helping to drive economic expansion.

One way this happens is through collateral. If a company, investor, or wealthy individual holds an asset that has greatly appreciated, they do not necessarily have to sell it to benefit from it. Selling may trigger a large taxable gain. But borrowing against the asset can unlock purchasing power without immediately realizing that gain.

The borrowed money can then be used to acquire productive assets: businesses, real estate, land, infrastructure, equipment, or other income-generating investments. In this way, a store-of-value asset becomes a financing base. Gold, crypto, securities, or other appreciated assets may not themselves produce much operating income, but they can be used as collateral to acquire assets that do.

This creates a powerful incentive. The owner preserves the original asset, avoids or delays the tax cost of selling, keeps exposure to possible future appreciation, and still gains access to capital. That capital then moves into the real economy through acquisitions, investment, development, and expansion.

But there is another channel as well: the wealth effect.

When people feel wealthier because their stocks, homes, retirement accounts, or crypto holdings have gone up substantially, they are often more willing to spend. Even if they do not sell the asset, the psychological effect is real. A person whose stock portfolio has appreciated may feel freer to take an expensive vacation, buy a boat, renovate a house, purchase a second home, upgrade a vehicle, or make some other dream purchase that had previously felt out of reach.

In that sense, wealth liberates consumption. Rising asset values loosen the emotional and financial restraints that normally limit spending. People who feel secure are more likely to spend. People who feel wealthier are more likely to take risks, reward themselves, and convert some of that perceived abundance into present enjoyment.

This spending becomes someone else’s income. The boat purchase supports manufacturers, dealers, marinas, mechanics, insurers, and fuel providers. The vacation supports airlines, hotels, restaurants, tour operators, and local workers. The home renovation supports contractors, suppliers, tradesmen, and real estate values. The original asset inflation therefore spills outward into broader economic activity.

So inflated assets can drive growth in at least two ways. First, they can be collateralized to support borrowing, acquisitions, and investment. Second, they can create a wealth effect that encourages freer consumption. In both cases, paper appreciation becomes real-world economic movement.

This may help explain why an economy can appear strong even while ordinary cash feels weak. If wages are pressured and cash loses purchasing power, but asset holders feel wealthier, then consumption and investment may still remain strong. The economy may be supported not only by income, but by the perceived and collateralized value of assets.

The danger is that this form of expansion depends heavily on confidence in asset values. If stocks, real estate, gold, or crypto are priced far above sustainable levels, then the economic activity they support may also be fragile. Rising collateral values can support more borrowing. Rising portfolios can support more discretionary spending. Rising real estate values can support home-equity loans and renovations. But if those values fall, borrowing capacity shrinks, confidence weakens, consumption slows, and forced selling can begin.

This is where the comparison to earlier credit bubbles becomes important. Inflated housing values once supported expanding credit, consumption, and construction. When those values broke, the debt structure built on top of them came under pressure. The same basic pattern can appear wherever inflated collateral and inflated confidence support real economic activity.

The International Dimension

Gold, crypto, and stablecoins can function differently from ordinary local currencies. They can move across borders, be recognized by lenders and counterparties in different jurisdictions, and sometimes provide access to dollar-like liquidity outside traditional banking channels. This can encourage international investment, cross-border acquisitions, and capital movement that might otherwise be slowed by weak currencies, banking limits, or local instability.

Built In Wealth Distribution

There is an important second-order broader economic effect. When inflated assets lead to more spending, borrowing, investment, construction, travel, acquisitions, and business expansion, that activity does not stop with the asset holder. It creates demand for labor. Businesses hire more workers, contractors take on more projects, service industries expand, and wages may rise as demand for labor increases.

In that sense, the wealth effect can become a channel of wealth distribution. The original gain may begin with the asset owner, but when that perceived wealth is spent or invested, it flows outward through wages, business revenue, tips, commissions, contract work, and new employment. The appreciation of assets therefore does not only enrich the holder on paper; it can also support real economic activity that spreads income through the broader economy.

Conclusion

My observation is that appreciated assets are not passive. They are not merely numbers on a brokerage statement, a blockchain wallet, or a real estate appraisal. They influence behavior. They support debt. They encourage spending. They create confidence. They cross borders. And through all of these channels, they can become a hidden engine of economic expansion.

The benefit is real: more spending, more investment, more acquisitions, more development, and more movement of capital. But the risk is also real: if the asset values are inflated, then some portion of the economic growth built on them may be vulnerable to a sudden reversal. The economy may be enjoying the stimulus of rising wealth today while quietly accumulating the fragility of inflated collateral and inflated confidence tomorrow.

To summarize, inflation, then, may not only be eroding the value of money; it may also be inflating the value of assets in ways that release spending, borrowing, investment, and acquisition. That hidden channel of growth may be one of the most underappreciated forces shaping the modern economy.

P.S. Writing is my way of thinking through a topic. If it benefits the reader, all the better. One way these thoughts might benefit both of us is how we bring them into our investment strategies.

FOOLS LIKE THOMAS FRIEDMAN

Iran systematically misled and exploited the expectations of those who believed it was fully complying with the JCPOA's spirit and long-term intent, even if it technically adhered to many monitored limits in the early years.

From 2016–Mid-2019, the IAEA repeatedly verified that Iran met core JCPOA limits on its declared nuclear activities:

- Low-enriched uranium stockpile below 300 kg.
- Enrichment capped at 3.67%.
- Centrifuge numbers restricted (mostly IR-1 models).
- No reprocessing, etc.

THEY WERE WRONG AND LIBERALS WERE DECEIVED!

Eroneous reports led Obama supporters who wanted to believe Iran was in compliance.  However, even then, issues emerged:

- Iran twice exceeded the 130-ton heavy water limit (by small margins) in 2016, then exported excess to comply.

- Allegations of operating slightly more advanced centrifuges than allowed in R&D (disputes over "roughly 10" IR-6s).

- Procurement attempts for sensitive items outside official channels (e.g., German intelligence reports).

Critics noted Iran tested boundaries and benefited from sanctions relief while maintaining (or hiding) parallel capabilities.

After the U.S. withdrawal and reimposed sanctions, Iran began stepwise violations of JCPOA limits (verified by IAEA):

- Exceeded enriched uranium stockpile limits (reached multiples of the cap).
- Increased enrichment levels beyond 3.67% (up to 60%+ near weapons-grade).
- Installed and used advanced centrifuges (IR-2m, IR-6, etc.) in larger numbers.
- Conducted prohibited R&D and accumulated uranium metal.

Iran knew what it was doing all along! After 4 years with Biden, by 2025, Iran's near-weapons-grade stockpile had grown dramatically (hundreds of kg at 60%), shortening breakout time to weeks.

Iran Conducted Deeper Deception Undeclared Activities and Safeguards Violations:

This is where "fooling" is clearest. The JCPOA assumed a baseline of declared activities, but IAEA investigations (intensified post-2018 Israeli intelligence on the "nuclear archive") revealed:

- Undeclared nuclear material (processed uranium particles) at multiple sites: Lavisan-Shian, Varamin, Turquzabad.
- Evidence of secret experiments (e.g., neutron sources for weapons initiation) into the early 2000s, with concealment/sanitization efforts.
- Iran's refusal to provide credible explanations or full access, despite requests.

WE WERE FOOLED DURING JCPOA!

In June 2025, the IAEA Board formally found Iran in non-compliance with its NPT safeguards agreement for the first time in 20 years—citing failures to declare material/activities and lack of cooperation. The agency cannot verify the program is "exclusively peaceful."

Iran's history of denial, deception, and "sanitation" of sites predates and continued alongside the JCPOA. The deal's verification was strong for *declared* sites but weaker for undeclared/military ones, which Iran EXPLOITED.

BOTTOM LINE:

Supporters, like Thomas Friedman, who trusted Iran would evolve into a compliant partner were proven wrong by the pattern: 

Technical adherence (when convenient) 
+ incremental cheating 
+ outright concealment on past and ongoing military dimensions. 

This aligns with Iran's broader track record of violating prior agreements. The JCPOA bought time on the declared program but failed to resolve fundamental distrust or prevent threshold status. Those advocating renewed diplomacy failed to confront this record of evasion head-on.

There were well-documented gaps in the JCPOA framework. The deal was narrowly focused on verifiable nuclear activities at declared sites. It explicitly left Iran's ballistic missile, drone, and conventional military programs largely unconstrained.

Ballistic Missiles and Drones:

- The JCPOA itself contained no limits on Iran's missile or drone development, production, or testing. Negotiators (including the U.S.) tried to include them, but Iran, backed by Russia and China, refused.

- UNSCR 2231 (which endorsed the JCPOA) only "called upon" Iran to refrain from activities related to ballistic missiles "designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons" for eight years (until October 2023). This was non-binding language ("calls upon," not "decides"), and Iran rejected the premise that its missiles were nuclear-capable. It continued testing and advancing solid-fuel missiles (e.g., Kheibar Shekan, Fateh variants), improving accuracy, range, and survivability.

- Drones (UAVs) faced even fewer restrictions. Iran ramped up production and exports (e.g., Shahed-series to Russia, proxies). Post-2023 expiration of UN provisions, the U.S. and allies imposed unilateral sanctions on these programs, but the infrastructure was already built.

- Iran's missile force grew to be the largest in the Middle East, with underground basing and mobile launchers enhancing survivability.

Sanctions Relief and Cash Flows Funded Iran:

Sanctions relief under the JCPOA unfroze Iranian assets and allowed renewed oil sales, providing tens of billions in revenue. Estimates of accessible funds varied (~$50–100 billion net after debts).

The notable cash transfer was the **$1.7 billion** settlement (January 2016) of a pre-1979 arms deal dispute: $400 million principal + $1.3 billion interest, paid in cash (euros/Swiss francs) due to banking restrictions. It coincided with hostage releases. Critics called it ransom or enabling cash; the Obama administration described it as settling a legal claim.

This, plus broader relief, gave Iran economic breathing room. Iran has long invested in underground "missile cities" and hardened facilities (e.g., mountain tunnels near Yazd, Fordow for nuclear, IRGC bases). These expanded during/after the relief period. Reports describe deep, fortified networks for missiles, drones, and command centers, designed to survive airstrikes. Recent conflicts highlight their resilience.

The "time gained" via delayed pressure and revenue allowed further fortification, proliferation to proxies, and dual-use advancements. This aligns with Iran's doctrine of asymmetric deterrence and "forward defense" via missiles/proxies.

These omissions were core flaws cited by opponents of the JCPOA from the start: it addressed one symptom (declared nuclear enrichment) while allowing the broader threat architecture (delivery systems, regional aggression) to mature. Sanctions relief provided fungible resources that strengthened the regime's military posture. 

Iran exploited the deal's narrow scope and loopholes while advancing capabilities outside its bounds. 

HEAVEN HELPED US! 

A Harris presidency (2025–2029) would likely have extended the pattern of diplomatic engagement, sanctions waivers, and restraint on kinetic options—precisely the conditions that allowed Iran to sprint toward nuclear threshold status by mid-2025.

Trump critics like Thomas Friedman have often framed the Iran issue through a lens that prioritizes diplomatic engagement and downplays (or attributes elsewhere) the costs of prior restraint-based policies. This pattern persists even after events like Operation Midnight Hammer validated concerns about Iran's unchecked advances.

Friedman was a leading advocate for the Obama-era JCPOA. In 2015 interviews and columns, he presented it as a pragmatic bet: Iran keeps some infrastructure but is delayed from a bomb, with Obama emphasizing engagement over isolation. He argued it was worth testing because the U.S. held overwhelming power and could adjust.

Post-2018 (Trump withdrawal), Friedman continued critiquing "maximum pressure" while highlighting risks of escalation. In the 2025–2026 period, amid strikes and follow-on conflict, he acknowledged the clerical regime's brutality and hoped for its military defeat or collapse. BUT, Friedman expressed being "torn" over the prospects of defeating Iran because he does not want Trump or Netanyahu politically strengthened.  During a war no less! That is shameful! 

WITH THE 2004 ELECTION OF DONALD J TRUMP, ISRAEL DODGED A NUCLEAR MISSILE. Miraculously, in also dodged hundreds of ballistic missiles fired at it.

The counterfactual under continued Harris-style policy is that Iran would have broken out of any nuclear threshold by now with catastrophic risks for Israel. Not to mention the probability that a worse Oct 7th may have happened in Northern Israel while thousands of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones rained down all over Israel. 

Friedman's "torn" stance—rooting against the regime's survival succeeding under Trump—illustrates how partisan animus can cloud threat prioritization. Iran's history of bad-faith talks, concealment, and "march to a weapon" (IAEA-verified) made trust-based deals risky, as Midnight Hammer's necessity demonstrated.

Dismissing the empirical failures of the prior doctrine—enrichment surges, cash flows, proxy boldness—while fixating on Trump hatred ignores measurable outcomes. Policy success is measured by Iran's capabilities and behavior, not personalities. The 2025 strikes disrupted a dangerous trajectory that softer approaches failed to halt.

NOW IS THE TIME TO RALLY BEHIND USA AND ISRAELI SOLDIERS AND OUR ADMINISTRATION IN THEIR BATTLE AGAINST THE EXISTENTIAL THREAT THAT IRAN HAS POSED FOR 47+ YEARS. 

LONELINESS ISN'T JUST SAD

Lord Knows, Loneliness Isn’t Just Sad, It’s Downright Unhealthy.

Yesterday a man named Thomas came to my house to test and fill a new propane tank. As he worked, he mentioned that he lost his wife about a year ago and kept her ashes because he didn’t want to bury her by herself. When I asked where he went to church, he said he was Catholic but had stopped going years ago. There was a heaviness in his voice that sounded like loneliness.

You can be alone without being lonely. You can sit in a quiet room and feel held, understood and at peace. By the same token, you can be in a crowded room or a noisy family gathering and feel more isolated than ever. The ache of loneliness has less to do with how many bodies are in the room and more to do with whether anyone truly sees you, hears you, and can bear what is really inside.

The psychoanalyst Carl Jung once said that loneliness does not come from having no people around, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important, or from holding views others find inadmissible. That is a piercing diagnosis. Loneliness is not just the absence of company. It is the pain of carrying something deep within and having nowhere safe to bring it.

Large population studies now show that persistent loneliness and social isolation are linked to along greater risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, anxiety, and dementia. Research indicates that chronic loneliness and social isolation raise the risk of premature death by about 26%, which is biologically comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness is not only sad, it can be deadly.

How might we treat the cause of loneliness, versus the symptoms?

Lord Knows...

From the very beginning, Scripture tells us that God Himself looked at a solitary human being and said, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). That is a striking statement, because Adam was not “alone” in the modern sense—he stood in unbroken fellowship with his Creator and in the middle of a world fresh from God’s hand. Yet God still declared that something was missing. Built into creation is the truth that human beings are made for relationship, both with God and with one another. 

The Lord responds... 

Long before there were statistics or journal articles, the Bible took this kind of loneliness seriously. Again and again, the Scriptures tell of men and women who felt abandoned, misunderstood, or inwardly alone—and who cried out to God and were met by Him.

Elijah is one of the clearest examples. After fire fell from heaven on Mount Carmel, he ran for his life into the wilderness, sat under a broom tree, and begged God to let him die. Later, in the cave at Horeb, he poured out his complaint: “I, even I only, am left.” His loneliness was not just physical. It was the crushing sense that he alone still cared about the truth and that his whole life had failed. God answered him with food and rest, then with His presence in a “still small voice.”

Hannah shows another face of loneliness. She was not hiding in a desert. She was in a family and in a place of worship, yet she carried a grief no one close to her could hold. 

“In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.”

— 1 Samuel 1:10

The priest misread her as drunk. That is a very sharp kind of loneliness: to be surrounded by people and still be misunderstood. Hannah poured out her soul before the Lord when no one else could or would receive it, and in time God answered her with a son, Samuel.

David also knew this ache. Before he ever wore a crown, he spent seasons hiding in caves from those who wanted to kill him. In that setting he prayed, “No one cares for my soul.” Those words are not polished theology; they are the voice of a man who feels unseen. Yet David did not stop there. He brought that truth to God and discovered that when every human refuge failed, the Lord Himself was his refuge and portion.

“Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.”
— Psalm 62:8

God Saw, God Heard, and God Answered

Hagar in the wilderness, Jacob alone at night by the river, Joseph in a foreign prison, Job surrounded by talkative friends who did not understand him—each in a different way experienced the pain of being unseen or unheard. Each also discovered that God saw, God heard, and God answered.

These stories show that the deepest loneliness is not only being physically by yourself. It is having “no one to tell.” And that is exactly where relationship with God speaks.

Crowded Heads, Lonely Hearts

One of the quiet tragedies of modern life is that our heads are crowded and our hearts are lonely. We replay fears and regrets in endless loops, but the conversations we most need never quite happen. Turning that inner talk toward God is something very different—that is where prayer begins.

Bringing God into the Conversation

Across Jewish and Christian traditions, believers have practiced simple, honest, direct conversation with God—bringing fear, weakness, confusion, sin, gratitude, and hope into His presence in plain language. What would remain trapped as lonely inner speech becomes a living dialogue once it is consciously addressed to the One who listens.

That is why making time for God matters. Even a few quiet minutes each day—a walk, a chair by the window, a whispered prayer in the car—can become resistance against isolation. Worship matters too. In Scripture, worship is not flattery offered to a needy deity; it is gratitude for who God is and what He has done. When we thank Him, bless Him, and praise Him, we are not performing for an audience. We are strengthening a real relationship.

Jeremiah 31:3—
“The Lord appeared to him from far away.
‘I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

And that relationship can become the most intimate relationship in a person’s life. With God, we can express weaknesses, fears, and faults we might never risk sharing even with a spouse. The Bible invites us to “pour out your heart before Him.” He already knows what is there, but in bringing it to Him we find that there is finally Someone who can bear it all.

The lonely heart that makes time for the Lord, worships Him in gratitude, and pours itself out before Him is not just “being religious.” It is entering the deepest relationship of all—the relationship in which nothing important has to remain unspoken.

Prayer is not a religious performance. It is an intimate conversation with God, where we dare to share our secrets, our fears, and our hurts with the One who never leaves us. In that kind of prayer, loneliness finally meets a Listener

—and, perhaps for the first time we feel heard, deeply understood, and less lonely. 

COINCIDENCE OR PLAN

Vision of Ezekiel
Giuseppe Cades (1750 - 1799)

Coincidence or Plan: The Mystery of 50

Preface

Last night I had the privilege of sitting in an Orthodox rabbi's class on Kabbalah. He carefully walked us through what Kabbalah is and what it is not, and he did so with a clear pastoral concern for where certain paths can lead.

A few years ago I studied Kabbalah more in depth with Dr. Michael Laitman who is a  prominent and respected Kabbalist, founder of the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute, and a prolific author.  Dr. Laitman teaches an "authentic" method of Kabbalah focused on spiritual ascension and correcting human relations. He emphasizes Kabbalah as a science of intention, aiming to transition humanity from egoism to love and connection. It is NOT a religion. 

In last night's class, Rabbi noted that if one is not careful, this kind of mystical exploration can begin to blur into Christianity. I have no interest in correcting him; he has drunk deeply from wells I am only beginning to approach. Plus, there is some history of this happening. It didn't turn out well. 

Rabbi's warning stayed with me, because in a strange way it touched something true—something the Scriptures themselves already acknowledge in the story of Jonah.

Whenever a person takes seriously the God of Israel in all His depth, holiness, mystery, and mercy, one eventually runs into the uncomfortable question of how far that mercy was always meant to reach. That thought stayed with me after the teaching ended, and it is what led me back to the strange and beautiful pattern gathered around the number 50.

The logic of 50

There are two holidays coming up, but they are really one, because there is only One God, the God of Israel and it His Kingdom that will come and it His will that will be done. 

In Torah, the number 50 is never just arithmetic. It comes after a sacred fullness, after seven sevens, as though God builds a pattern to completion and then opens a door beyond it to an eighth, reminiscent of the Light of Hanukkah. 

In Leviticus 25, the fiftieth year becomes Jubilee: liberty is proclaimed, debts are released, slaves go free, and families return to inheritance. Fifty is not merely a number on the calendar. It is a sign of divine reset, restoration, and return. Seven 7's brings us to 50 which brings us back to the One. 

That same structure appears in Shavuot. Israel counts seven full weeks from Passover and arrives at the fiftieth day, the feast later called Pentecost. In Jewish tradition, this is the season of the giving of Torah at Sinai, when Israel receives divine instruction and is formed into a covenant people. The pattern is unmistakable: deliverance first, then counting, then revelation.

Why Ezekiel belongs here

This is why Ezekiel chapter 1 is such a perfect reading for Shavuot. On the feast that remembers revelation at Sinai, the synagogue reads the prophet’s vision of the heavenly chariot, Maaseh Merkavah, the Workings of the Chariot. That pairing is not accidental. Shavuot is not only about receiving commandments; it is about standing before the reality of the God who gives them.

Ezekiel’s vision does not hand the reader a neat system. It overwhelms. Wheels within wheels, living creatures, fire, radiance, motion, sound, and above it all the likeness of a throne. It is revelation by excess. The vision shows and hides at the same time, giving just enough form to draw us near and just enough mystery to keep us humble.

Why Kabbalah embraced it

This is precisely why Kabbalah could not leave Ezekiel alone. The mystics recognized in this chapter a language for divine reality that exceeds literalism. Ezekiel speaks in symbols because the subject itself is greater than ordinary speech. The chariot, the creatures, the fire, and the likeness above the throne are not mechanical descriptions of heaven but invitations into contemplation.

At its best, Kabbalah helps a person receive. The Torah describes creation in just 34 versus Genesis 1:1-2 to 2:3.  Kabbalah trains the soul to understand that divine truth often arrives clothed in image, tension, and layered meaning. 

But that is also why it is dangerous in unsteady hands. To receive mystery rightly requires spiritual maturity. It requires humility, reverence, discipline, and the willingness to let revelation reshape the reader rather than the reader mastering revelation.

From Shavuot to Pentecost

This is also why Pentecost belongs in the conversation. The Christian reading of Acts 2 does not discard Shavuot; it intensifies its trajectory. Once again there is fire. Once again there is divine speech. Once again there is revelation at the end of a sacred count. But now the speech is heard in the languages of the nations.

That is why Pentecost feels like more than a festival scene. It feels like Jubilee in motion. The fiftieth year in Torah restores inheritance and liberty. The fiftieth day of Pentecost announces release in another register: a spiritual opening, a widening of access, a movement of divine light beyond the boundary lines where many expected it to remain. In that sense, Pentecost becomes the ultimate Jubilee.

The light widens

None of this is actually foreign to the Tenach. Israel was never chosen as an end in itself. Israel was chosen to bear the knowledge of the one true God into the world, to be a priestly people, a light to the nations, a living witness that the Creator of all had made Himself known in covenant. The movement outward was present from the beginning.

This is why Ezekiel and Revelation fit together so naturally. Ezekiel begins with the God of Israel appearing in mobile glory, even in exile, proving that His presence is not trapped inside one land or one building. Revelation takes up that same throne imagery and brings it to its final horizon: a luminous city, no separate temple, and the nations walking in the light of God. The God of Israel is revealed as the God of the world, the Light of the world.

Jonah in the middle

And this is where Jonah returns with fresh force. Jonah is not merely a story about disobedience. It is a story about resistance to mercy. Jonah knows exactly who God is—gracious, compassionate, slow to anger—and that is precisely why he runs. He does not want divine compassion spilling over onto Nineveh.

That is what makes Jonah such a perfect story for Yom Kippur, and also such an uncomfortable key to the larger biblical story. It forces the chosen people to ask whether they really want the nations brought under the mercy, protection, and power of the God of Israel. Until the Messiah fully arrives, Jews will struggle here, like Jonah. But in truth, so will everyone else. Human beings of every tribe prefer a God who saves their own and judges their enemies.

Coincidence or plan

So is the mystery of 50 coincidence, or is it plan? The more these patterns converge, the harder coincidence becomes to believe. Jubilee restores inheritance. Shavuot grants Torah and revelation. Pentecost widens speech and light toward the nations. Ezekiel gives the vision of the throne behind it all. Jonah exposes the human resistance that stands in the way.

Taken together, they tell one story. The end is already there in the beginning. The light that first shines in creation, then in Torah, then in Israel, was always meant to widen. Kabbalah can help us receive that mystery, but only spiritual maturity will keep us from twisting it to fit our fears. The same God who rides in Ezekiel’s chariot and speaks at Sinai has always been moving His light outward; the question is whether we will let His mercy go as far as He intends.

Because ultimately, this is a story about world redemption and how the nations of the world treat God’s chosen people and nation. In the end, God is One, and His plan was always to bring his Kingdom down and for us to be with Him.

Translation of the Hebrew Morners Kaddish

Magnified and sanctified is the great name of God throughout the world, which was created according to Divine will. May the rule of peace be established speedily in our time, unto us and unto the entire household of Israel. And let us say: Amen.

May God’s great name be praised throughout all eternity. Glorified and celebrated, lauded and praised, acclaimed and honored, extolled and exalted ever be the name of thy Holy One, far beyond all song and psalm, beyond all hymns of glory which mortals can offer. And let us say: Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, with life’s goodness for us and for all thy people Israel. And let us say: Amen.

May the One who brings peace to the universe bring peace to us and to all the people Israel. And let us say: Amen.