Achieve financial success through patience
As originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post on January 23, 2025.
“Patience, n. A minor form of dispair, disguised as a virtue.” -Ambrose Bierce
Earlier this week I was in a produce store and was speaking with the owner. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him. He proceeded to say that he has 100,000 nis and where I thought he should invest it. I told him that it’s a bit more complicated than that and then he said if he invests in the Tel-Aviv stock exchange how much money will he make every year. He said the money can sit for 6 months! I said that he needs to have a long-term time horizon, but he kept pressing me about his expected returns. I then said that I just need to pay because I had a meeting arriving in a few minutes.
I actually have these kinds of interactions more frequently than you may think. A few weeks ago, I got a call from a client who “needed to make a lot of money fast”. He apparently had borrowed money from someone, and the loan was being called, and didn’t have enough money to repay the loan. So, he figured I had a ‘hot’ stock that he could make a fortune on, quickly. I politely explained that I thought that was a really bad idea and I don’t recommended things like that.
In this week’s Torah portion, Vaera, we read about events that lead up to the exodus from Egypt. As I have written previously Rav Ahron Lichtenstein Z”L, speaking about where this portion fits in the broader story of the exodus, explained,“At the beginning of the parasha, God promises Moshe that He will deliver Am Yisrael from their suffering. This long and detailed promise contains five different expressions of redemption. Moshe conveys God’s words to Am Yisrael, but his message falls on deaf ears and cold hearts: “…but they did not listen to Moshe because of impatience (kotzer ruach) and hard labor (avoda kasha).” (6:9) Many different interpretations have been offered for the expressions “kotzer ruach” and “avoda kasha” and the connection between them. Rashbam comments (ad loc.):’But they did not listen to Moshe’ – at this stage, even though they originally had faith, as it is written, ‘And the people believed’ (5:31), for they had thought that they would have rest from their hard labor, but now it had only become worse for them.”
Rav Lichtenstein continued, “In other words, the reason for the lack of faith on the part of Bnei Yisrael was their disillusionment. In parashat Shemot, Moshe came to Am Yisrael and conveyed God’s message of redemption. They heard the words “pakod pakadeti,” which had been passed down among them as the code and signal of redemption, and believed in Moshe, rejoicing and looking forward to an alleviation of their suffering (4:31):”And the people believed; and when they heard that God had visited (pakad) Bnei Yisrael, and had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshipped.”
The nation was now inspired with hope. They believed that within a short time their enslavement would be over; they began “packing their bags” and getting ready to leave. It came as a great disappointment that days and weeks went by, yet they were not redeemed. Their enslavement continued, its conditions growing even more difficult.
The nation, lacking any historical perspective, was impatient. The people did not understand that redemption is a long, slow process; they expected it to happen all at once. Since there was no visible progress, they were disappointed, and started to complain. This is the meaning of “impatience” (kotzer ruach).”
In Exodus 6:13 it says, “God spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He commanded them to be His emissaries to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to take the Israelites out of Egypt.” On that verse, Rashi deals with the ‘command’ and says that Moses and Aaron were being commanded to lead the Children of Israel “calmly and to be patient with them.”
In many facets of life patience is needed in order to achieve success. Creating wealth is no different. You are not going to get rich overnight. It’s a long process with bumps in the road. Staying the course is key. Trust the process. He are a few tips to help you on the path towards financial freedom:
- Trust the process. It’s important to trust your investment strategy and do your best to tune out the talking heads that create fierce headlines and may strike fear or hesitation into an investor.
- Make decisions when life’s circumstances change, not your emotions. It’s best to make allocation changes based on what’s changing in your life, and not your emotions. Some life events that could drive change include retiring, switching careers, expanding your family, or receiving a raise.
- Ask for help. Part of having trust in your investment decisions is knowing exactly what they are. A financial advisor can not only help take some of the emotions out of investing, but they can answer any questions you might have along the way so that you know exactly what you’re investing in and what the strategy is to accomplish your financial goals.
It’s a long road but if you have patience and trust the process, there’s a great chance that you will achieve financial success.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Katsman is the author of Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, SIFMA, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995 visit www.aaronkatsman.com or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.
