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. To make things more complicated, since Shabbat immediately follows the holiday, pressure built on me to agree to multiple non-meat meals. For the sake of family harmony, I gave in. 

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., bringing the Omer offering, the main reason given is that we are celebrating the Jews’ receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai. While lasagna and blueberry cheesecake are important material aspects of the holiday, on a spiritual level, it’s the reading of the Ten Commandments that takes front and center.

Ayn Rand’s aforementioned quote, “achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life,” sounds attractive in a culture obsessed with self-fulfillment. On the surface, who could argue with happiness? Judaism certainly values joy, satisfaction, and personal growth. But the Torah fundamentally disagrees with the idea that personal happiness is the ultimate moral yardstick.

The clearest rebuttal may be found in the Tenth Commandment: “Lo Tachmod” – “Thou shalt not covet.” Why would the Torah prohibit coveting? After all, wanting more might make a person happier. Desiring someone else’s house, career, or success could motivate achievement and personal advancement. 

Yet the Torah recognizes a profound truth: when morality is built solely around personal happiness and self-defined values, society quickly deteriorates into jealousy, entitlement, and selfishness.

Rand argues that happiness proves moral integrity. Judaism argues the opposite. Sometimes morality demands sacrifice, restraint, and even discomfort. A parent waking up at 3 a.m. with a sick child is not pursuing “personal happiness.” A soldier defending his nation is not acting out of self-indulgence. A person giving charity beyond her comfort zone may not feel pleasure at all in the moment. Yet these are among the Torah’s highest ideals.

The commandment against coveting teaches that morality begins by limiting the self, not worshiping it. True freedom comes not from chasing every desire but from mastering desire. Happiness in Judaism is often the result of living morally, not the purpose of morality itself.

I truly believe that society’s fixation with social media is completely wrapped 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 Wilsons? 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.

Bendan Donohue on Inertia.com analyzes 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 to “Keep up with the Joneses.” Over the last few years, it’s become popular for Israeli real estate agents to fly to the US, have a housing fair, and market Israeli projects to US buyers.

I recently got a call from someone thinking about buying and wanted to consult. I asked the price, and it turns out they were taking on a mortgage of over $1 million! Partly because they need to pay 20% more because of the shekel’s strength.

Before COVID, 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 to 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 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 a 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@lighthousecapital.co.il

Aaron Katsman is the author of Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing. www.gpsinvestor.com