Shavuot: Live your life and forget about the lifestyle of others
As originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post on June 7, 2024.
“Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.”
-Ayn Rand
The holiday of Shavuot is fast approaching, and while some of us prefer a meat-fest many people are focused on their customary dairy meal. I gave into family pressure and compromised, one dairy and one meat meal. While cheesecake gets everyone excited, let’s not lose sight of the real reason for the holiday. While there is an important agricultural aspect to the holiday, i.e. bring the Omer offering, the main reason given is that we are celebrating the Jews receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai. While lasagna and blueberry cheesecake are an important material aspect of the holiday, on a spiritual level it’s the reading of the 10 commandments that takes front and center.
Commandment number 10 is Lo Tachmod, do not covet. The Torah begins by warning against coveting someone else’s home. (Lo Tachmod beit rei’echa). It goes on and prohibits desiring another’s wife, servants, ox and donkey. As I have mentioned before, in explanation of this rather odd formulation, Rabbi Zev Leff, suggests that the root of coveting another’s assets is a lack of satisfaction with one’s own lot in life. “If only I were that other person,” reasons the coveter, “I would have happiness!” Hence, all of that person’s relationships and assets are equated since the coveter wants to be that person rather than desiring a specific one of his items. Perhaps this is the reason that the Torah begins by warning against coveting another’s house followed by a second warning concerning specific items: it is the desire to be another person in general – to have his household – that leads to coveting his specific possessions.”
I truly believe that society’s fixation with social media is completely wound up in our desire to be happy like someone else. We see all their pictures posted on Facebook or Instagram and think that they are really living the good life. “Why can’t we be like the Smith’s? They are always having so much family fun. They travel, eat at the best restaurants and seem to have the perfect life.” When you are actually good friends with someone (not generic FB friends) you often see that the way their life is portrayed through pictures is not reality. They may be having financial, marital, health and a host of other issues.
Brendan Donohue in Inertia.com analyses why he has given up social media. He writes, “The reason I can’t buy into these forms of expression and documentation is because they slowly but surely take away from the experience of real life. I’m not just talking about the obvious detriment of spending your life looking at a screen, living vicariously through the adventures of others while never embarking on any of your own. I’m talking about the events of your life, the exciting moments you live through as a human, being replaced (and validated or measured) by your documentation of those moments in social media.”
The 10th commandment teaches us not to try and “Keep up with the Joneses.” Because of the antisemitism going on in the US, Israeli real estate agents are marketing all kinds of new building projects in the US. Many of these projects are getting bought up very quickly. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from clients who live in the US and were looking to buy in one of these new Israeli projects. I asked the price, and it turns out they were taking on a mortgage of over $1 million dollars! Before Corona they accumulated over $50,000 in debt, but their fortunes changed during the pandemic after starting a successful home business. They were also nearing retirement and were still in the initial stages of building up their retirement funds. I strongly suggested waiting and building up savings and then in a year or two buying with a much smaller mortgage. The answer I got was that all their friends were buying and even if they can’t afford it everything will somehow work out.
Forget about everyone else and try and fulfill your financial potential. Live within your means. That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy life and spend money on a vacation, just make sure that it’s accounted for. How? Make a budget. I can’t stress enough the importance of taking control over your spending. Only by tracking income and expenses can you start a realistic savings plan and start building wealth.
Then start saving. You need to start investing and with discipline, the wonders of compound interest and the growth of the stock market, over time you will create a comfortable nest egg.
It’s is of utmost importance to maximize your retirement account contributions. There is no better investment than a tax deferred investment. Make sure you are maximizing contributions to your Keren Hishtalmut and Pension. Keep the money invested and you will be shocked at how much money you can accumulate over the long-term.
Forget about everyone else and focus on implementing these steps to get on solid financial footing.
Now back to the cheesecake. Chag Sameach!
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.
