Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual
teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law.
He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their
search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money,
and spiritual engagement.
The
Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and
former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar
blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12
gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal
the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in
living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember.
The articles that I include each day are those that I find
interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't
always agree with all the points of each article but found them
interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It
is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about
life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the
Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend
to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in
advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle
I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want
to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah
is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what
I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave.
Disney's woke, gay, political agenda and your kids
Parents pay for the tickets and the best way to send Disney a
message is to refuse to let your kids go to see the new LGBT propaganda
films.
Alan Bergstein
We've a sad story to tell. And that's of the predictable demise of
the once great Disney Studios that got its start under Walt Disney in
1923, creating cartoons for kids. This giant of the entertainment
industry went on to cater to youngsters with such great movies as Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, Bambi, the creation of The Mickey
Mouse Club and their myriad of theme parks focused on kids'
entertainment.
Now they've become infatuated, most
probably in a suicidal way, with inserting politics and a "woke" gay
agenda into their products. Big mistake for a such a big, public,
enterprise to make. The current board room executives at the Disney
company, not having the brains of their own character, The Scarecrow,
have ignored the obvious; that parents, not their kids, shell out for
tickets to their movies and to their theme parks. And if the elder folk
are not happy with the contents of the films or of the attractions at
the parks, it's a no go for their offspring. Logic 101.
Across
the nation, Americans of all political stripes are totally fed up with
Disney's radical, "not so secret gay agenda." The company foolishly
slipped out of its role as a premier kiddie entertainment giant by
openly opposing Florida's incorrectly named, "Don't say gay bill,"
thereby clashing with Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed it into law,
supported by a majority of his state's citizens. The bill protects
children in grades kindergarten through third grade from being taught
about gender identity and sexuality. Nothing about "gay" at all.
The
company went on to post that the bill, "should never have been signed
into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the
legislature or struck down in the courts and we remain committed to
supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve
that." How much more stupid can a public corporation, especially one
based on delivering entertainment to children, be to start playing
political hardball? Especially to support the indoctrination of kids
with sexual theories taught by teachers who have indicated the inability
to even teach the basic Three R's to their students?
But
their executives who must live in the make believe world of Oz, don't
quit acting like lunatics, threatening the investments of millions of
share-holders with their irrational moves. Disney diversity and
inclusion manager, Vivian Ware, had the temerity to state to the press,
that the company has to eliminate all mentions of "ladies, "gentlemen,"
"boys" and "girls" in its theme parks in order to create, "that magical
moment" for children who do not identify with traditional gender roles.
And just how many kids and their parents fit that bill?
And
then there's idiot corporate president, Karey Burke, who said she
supported having "many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories"
and reaffirmed the company's pledge to make at least 50 percent of its
on-screen characters sexual and racial minorities. We did our own
checking and the percentage of gay and minority citizens in America does
not fit that number and is, in fact, way below it. A drunken car ride
off the cliff of insanity.
There
is plenty of room for movies for all people including the gay
community. We have had them for years. That's OK for adults. But when
it comes to films made especially for children, as is the case with the
Disney Corporation, we feel it is entirely inappropriate and even
immoral to put this subject into kids' movies. They are not ready to
tackle this subject and neither are their parents ready to permit their
offspring to be indoctrinated under the guise of being entertained.
Disney
is way out of touch with reality and clearly is not in sync with its
patrons. And Walt, the genius behind this once great film studio, must
be turning over in his grave at the destruction of his brainchild. It
may already be too late to prevent this disaster.
Israeli researchers solve mystery of glowing coral
Tel Aviv University researchers prove for the first time the purpose of coral reefs' fluorescent glow.
A
new Tel Aviv University study, in collaboration with the Steinhardt
Museum of Natural History, and the Interuniversity Institute for Marine
Sciences in Eilat, has proven for the first time that the magical
phenomenon in deep reefs in which corals display glowing colors
(fluorescence) is intended to serve as a mechanism for attracting prey.
The study shows that the marine animals on which corals prey recognize
the fluorescent colors and are attracted to them.
The study was
led by Dr. Or Ben-Zvi, in collaboration with Yoav Lindemann and Dr. Gal
Eyal, under the supervision of Prof. Yossi Loya from the School of
Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv
University.
The researchers explain that for centuries, nature lovers and scientists have been fascinated by the fact that creatures in the sea are able to glow. The phenomenon is very common in reef-building corals, but its biological role has been the subject of constant debate. Over the years, a number of hypotheses have been tested, such as: Does this phenomenon protect against radiation? To optimize photosynthesis? An antioxidant activity? To protect against herbivores or to attract symbiotic algae to the corals? This latest study shows that the function of the corals’ fluorescence is actually to serve as lure for prey.
In
the study, the researchers put their hypothesis to the test; to this
end, they first sought to determine whether plankton (small organisms
that drift in the sea along with the current) are attracted to
fluorescence, both in the laboratory and at sea. Then, in the lab, the
researchers quantified the predatory capabilities of mesophotic corals
(corals that live between the shallow coral reef area and the deep,
completely dark zone of the ocean), which exhibit different fluorescent
appearances.
In order to test the planktons’ potential attraction
to fluorescence, the researchers used, inter alia, the crustacean
Artemia salina, which is used in many experiments as well as for food
for corals. The researchers noted that when the crustaceans were given a
choice between a green or orange fluorescent target versus a clear
“control” target, they showed a significant preference for the
fluorescent target.
Moreover,
when the crustaceans were given a choice between two clear targets, its
choices were observed to be randomly distributed in the experimental
setup. In all of the laboratory experiments, the crustaceans vastly
exhibited a preferred attraction toward a fluorescent signal. Similar
results were presented when using a native crustacean from the Red Sea.
However, unlike the crustaceans, fish that are not considered coral prey
did not exhibit these trends, and rather avoided the fluorescent
targets in general and the orange targets in particular.
In the
second phase of the study, the experiment was carried out in the corals’
natural habitat, about 40 meters deep in the sea, where the fluorescent
traps (both green and orange) attracted twice as many plankton as the
clear trap. Dr. Or Ben-Zvi says, “We conducted an experiment in the
depths of the sea in order to examine the possible attraction of diverse
and natural collections of plankton to fluorescence, under the natural
currents and light conditions that exist in deep water. Since
fluorescence is ‘activated’ principally by blue light (the light of the
depths of the sea), at these depths the fluorescence is naturally
illuminated, and the data that emerged from the experiment were
unequivocal, similar to the laboratory experiment.”
In
the last part of the study, the researchers examined the predation
rates of mesophotic corals that were collected at 45 m depth in the Gulf
of Eilat, and found that corals that displayed green fluorescence
enjoyed predation rates that were 25 percent higher than corals
exhibiting yellow fluorescence.
Prof. Loya: “Many corals display a
fluorescent color pattern that highlights their mouths or tentacle
tips, a fact that supports the idea that fluorescence, like
bioluminescence (the production of light by a chemical reaction), acts
as a mechanism to attract prey. The study proves that the glowing and
colorful appearance of corals can act as a lure to attract swimming
plankton to ground-dwelling predators, such as corals, and especially in
habitats where corals require other energy sources in addition or as a
substitute for photosynthesis (sugar production by symbiotic algae
inside the coral tissue using light energy).”
Dr. Ben-Zvi
concludes: “Despite the gaps in the existing knowledge regarding the
visual perception of fluorescence signals by plankton, the current study
presents experimental evidence for the prey-luring role of fluorescence
in corals. We suggest that this hypothesis, which we term the ‘light
trap hypothesis’, may also apply to other fluorescent organisms in the
sea, and that this phenomenon may play a greater role in marine
ecosystems than previously thought.”
Jewish leader and philanthropist Kurt Rothschild dead at 101
Centenarian leader of Religious Zionist movement and prominent Canadian Zionist leader passes away Sunday.
Kurt Rothschild, the president of the World Mizrachi Movement, passed away Sunday. He was 101 years old.
"Rothschild,
the president of the World Mizrachi, who dedicated his life to
strengthening the State of Israel and to Jewish education was one of the
leaders of Canadian Jewry and a partner with Religious Zionism, passed
away today," the World Bnei Akiva Movement announced Sunday night.
"He will be laid to rest tomorrow in Jerusalem."
Ehud
Tal, secretary-general of the World Bnei Akiva Movement, said
Rothschild was "known throughout the entire Zionist enterprise in Israel
and around the world."
"He was a true friend of the Bnei Akiva
Movement and dedicated his life to the spirit of Torah V'Avodah. Thanks
to him, connected to their Jewish identity and to the Jewish people and
the Torah."
Born in Germany in 1920, Rothschild was sent to
England by his parents in 1937, before being relocated by the British to
Canada in 1940.
Along with other German refugees, Rothschild was interned in Canada for 18 months.
For
more than half a century, Rothschild was actively involved in
philanthropic activities, working on behalf of Israeli institutions
including Bar-Ilan University, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Yeshiva
HaKotel, the Jerusalem College of Technology, the Bnei Akiva Movement,
and towns across Israel.
As a Zionist activist, Rothschild worked
in a variety of Jewish organizations, including the United Jewish
Appeal, the Canadian Zionist Federation, the Canadian Jewish Congress,
the Jewish National Fund, Israel Bonds, the Jewish Agency for Israel,
and the World Zionist Organization.
In 2012, Rothschild and his wife, Edith, immigrated to Israel from Toronto.
The
World Mizrachi Movement eulogized Rothschild in a statement Sunday
night, dubbing him the "legendary president" of the organization.
"Kurt
was ‘one in a generation’ with an unmatched love of the People, Torah
and Land of Israel with his signature humility, unshakable determination
and exceptional menschlichkeit."
Rabbi Doron
Perez, Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi said: “Kurt was small in
physical stature but was a giant of a man in his never ending
contribution and commitment to Klal Yisrael in general and
Religious Zionism in particular. We are heartbroken and our hearts go
out to his wife Edith, and children Lenny, Naomi, Michael and the
extended Rothschild family at this time.”