Mental Wellness and Coronavirus Parlor Meeting – Gary Smith

FJMC/FJL, A MENTAL WELLNESS INITIATIVE - BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE – Gary Smith

Today was a special day. At my synagogue, my rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Smolkin, Dr Hamilton Lempert and Dr Gary Smith unveiled and led the first Hearing People’s Voices discussion at Adath Israel synagogue in Cincinnati, Ohio on Mental Wellness.  We decided to call an emergency “Hearing Peoples Voices” / Parlor Discussion on “Anxiety and Depression associated with Coronavirus and other Infectious Disease”.  It was well attended.

We first gave some background on the initiative. Then Dr. Lempert an Emergency Room (ER) doctor in contact with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) gave some information about the virus and its spread, as well as debunking some theories on the origination of the virus.  Dr Gary Smith then discussed “anticipatory anxiety”.

What triggers anxiety?  We brought up in the discussion that the term “social distance” should really be “physical distance”!  Each person had a different set of anxiety and depression experiences related to the Coronavirus.  Anticipatory anxiety was the most common.  It is the nervousness we feel about what might happen. The dentist in the group was struggling with how to open his doors and serve his clients.  After the discussion he came up with a plan.  Gary discussed whether it was more important to isolate ourselves or to have some type of social interaction.  The psychologist in the group suggested he has seen more people with anxiety and depression recently because of the lack of social interaction.  We changed the term social distancing to physical distancing at the behest of our psychologist. We all thought that was a better term.  We all sat about 4 feet apart in a large circle in a very comfortable setting.

We came up with 6 most important points for prevention:

1.       Washing hands - for at least 20 seconds frequently

2.       Rest - particularly if sleep is difficult

3.       Meditation – it works amazingly for healing and relaxation and helping to eliminate anxiety

4.       Hydration - maybe the most important

5.       Exercise - very critical particularly if you can achieve sweating

6.       Diet - including herbs like turmeric and black pepper, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, blueberries, wild salmon, and olive oil. These all have anti-inflammatory properties.

I also discussed what to do if you feel sick; that it might not be a good idea to rush to the ER but first to call your doctor and take a Tylenol for fever.  We also discussed children. Interestingly babies do not get symptoms of the disease but can be carriers.  So be aware of where they might have been. It was also suggested that it is ok to meet in small groups of 2 – 10; just be careful to keep your distance and use wipes or Purell. We discussed having Shabbat service with 7 - 10 people in breakouts and no main service, or having Zoom minyans.  If you are going to “socially isolate” yourself please find some hobbies, exercise for example by walking with someone outside while keeping your distance from each other and others.

After analyzing this whole virus situation my personal viewpoint is somewhat different.  I think God has put this virus in front of us to see how we are going to react and so we learn to be proactive.  I believe that because of Global Warming and the challenges to the earth in supporting the number of people in the world that we are in for more major disease catastrophes.  A sobering thought but something to think about and to work on preparing-for so we do not get caught unprepared. 

Everyone was so excited about our talk. The conclusion was there is a new normal in families because mental illness is so prevalent.  More than 75 % of families are dealing with some form of mental illness.

It is our hope that we will continue to share information so we, the FJMC/FJL, can come up with plans to prevent Coronavirus, educate and build awareness for our precious families.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Also, if you are going to run a program like this make sure your rabbi is fully supportive and shows up for the first 5 mins of the discussion. It makes what you are doing that much more credible.  Also try to have a health professional as a facilitator and you as the moderator.

Thank you and please contact Dr. Gary Smith with questions. gsmith@fjmc.org .

Community Solar – Bruce Sicherman

Many of you will remember several years ago when Richard Gray was running around with his project to get us to implement a solar Eternal Light.  A lot has changed over the last few years and what was once a very complicated and expensive technology to support a single small light bulb has now gone mainstream.

My synagogue was thinking about installing solar panels on our roof.  It was turned down due to potential damage to our roof, our roof not being big enough to provide the amount of electricity needed, and the upfront cost.  Last year I began seeing ads on Facebook for Community Solar.  A solar farm was built in the middle of nowhere and was providing power to the local utility which we could buy at a significant discount.  We no longer needed to deal with all the problems of solar panels but could get the benefits. 

New City Jewish Center contracted with Clearway Solar to provide the electricity we needed while saving substantially, moving to clean nonpolluting energy, and getting the benefits of solar with none of the issues. The synagogue is already seeing the savings which is improving our bottom line. In addition, we established a deal with Clearway to extend the benefit to our members while the synagogue received a significant finder’s fee.

I will be happy to go into more detail if you contact me bsich@optonline.net .

Math Challenge – Arnie Miller

Bored?  Arnie is always keeping busy with math challenges for himself and the students he tutors.  Enjoy, contact Arnie at Miller.Arnold@comcast.net with your proud solutions or questions.

     1= 2: A proof using beginning algebra

The fallacious proof:

     Let a = b

     a2 = ab

     a2 + a2 = a2+ ab

     2a2 = a2+ ab

     2a2-2ab  = a2+ ab – 2ab

     2a2-2ab  = a2– ab

     2(a2-ab)  = 1(a2 – ab)

     Cancelling the (a2 – ab) from both sides gives 1 = 2

See if you can figure out in which step the fallacy lies. 

Where will the Stock Market go from here?

Gary Smith (March 15, 2020)

Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised" - Denis Waitley

This line was never more true than now.  What a ride it has been.  We are at the level in the market we were 3 years ago.  This shows that there are so many underlying issues in America.  Credit card delinquencies are up to 7% in the 3rd quarter of 2019 from 5.1 % in the 2nd quarter of 2016.  The next subprime bust is coming. Total household debt is 14.2 trillion dollars. In comparison, in the last crisis it was 12.7 trillion.  How did we get ourselves in this position?  Mortgage debt is 9.6 trillion dollars

Student loan debt is at an all-time high.  Seventy-five percent of people do not have much if any retirement savings and live from paycheck to paycheck. Car loan debt is 1.5 trillion. Five percent is already delinquent.  With all this there is little way out of a disaster.

WHERE WILL THE STOCK MARKET GO FROM HERE?  This is just a lay person’s take on the market, and by no means should you take this at face value without checking with your broker or doing your own research.   The market has dropped for two reasons: 1. The Coronavirus, and 2. The oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.  The increases in uncertainty and the administration’s lack of response to the Coronavirus crisis has led to panic in the markets.  The markets hate uncertainty. We are not there yet but the next downturn will be a disaster.

If you are going to buy stocks or have managed accounts, make sure you have at least 15 - 20% of your portfolio in cash and 5 - 10 % in precious metals as a hedge.  With interest rates so low, investing in gold or silver is a win-win. You can invest in gold stocks or gold coins. There are other ways to invest in gold that are a little more complicated.  But, please find a way to have some precious metals in your account.

Yes, you might be able to make more money, but look out if you are late selling. Please have a plan for your money.  Remember Warren Buffets famous line. The number 1 most important thing to remember in investing is “do not lose money”. The second most important thing is “do not forget number 1”.

I believe the stock market will recover some or all of its recent losses, but I also believe we are in for the biggest downturn in history after 12 years of a bull market and the euphoria of people putting themselves into serious debt with indiscriminate buying and not saving   I can only ask that you be prepared.  Further, the turmoil in the White House has created chaos in the US financial systems.  These low interest rates, although they look great in the short term, are being used by big corporations that are borrowing to pay off debt and spend unnecessarily with little ability to pay the loans back.  I reiterate we are in trouble. Be prepared. Be prepared. Be prepared.

What happens next is what confuses people... because what happens in the markets is different from what happens in real life. The sooner you understand this, the sooner you'll be on your way to making money.  All the markets need is a slight change in perception. All the markets need is for things to appear, well, "less bad."  In the real world, things can actually be getting worse... The number of Coronavirus cases could continue to rise, for example. But if that's what the markets expect to happen, then it won't be the huge negative you might expect.

Similarly, bad economic numbers are now baked in. Folks expect to see them as the Coronavirus hurts commerce.  But if the coming negative news is expected, it won't hit stocks as hard as you might think. Simply put, the markets are not concerned with what's actually happening, the markets are looking ahead.  One minute, they might see no hope at all. But again, if things start looking "less bad" – not good, just "less bad" – then stocks can soar.

I will write on this every so often as we get closer.  Like I always end, remember this is just a lay person’s take on what will happen.  So, consult your professional with questions about what they do and make sure that you are holding between 10 - 20% in cash.  I hope you enjoyed this edition of the wealth tip for HWR. If you have any questions let me know.