Your Investments: A financial and personal clean slate for Yom Kippur

This brings us to a rather obvious question: how is it that, each year, we keep coming back and asking forgiveness for the same sins over and over again? It’s as if we know that we aren’t really going to improve, yet we initiate the same process and are granted forgiveness anyway.

The end of the last Mishna in the Tractate of Yoma quotes Rabbi Akiva, who said, “Fortunate are you, Israel, in front of whom do you get purified, and who purifies you? Your Father in heaven, as it is written ‘and I will sprinkle pure water upon you and purify you’ and ‘God, the Mikveh of Israel’ – just as a mikveh purifies the impure, so too, God purifies Israel” (Mishna Yoma 8:9).

As I have written before, I can sort of understand how the holy waters of a mikveh can purify those who immerse themselves fully. But how can a few sprinkles of holy water have the same effect? My theory is that, perhaps, the act of sprinkling signifies a process. After all, it takes many small drops of water to form a whole pool.

We aren’t expected to upheave our lifestyles and become perfect people overnight. It’s a long process – one small change after another. What matters is the process to get back on track. And, once we do, we can go ahead with making a few small changes and sticking to them; that is what grants us “purification.”

Maimonides asks who is considered to have been completely repented. He answers (Hilchot Teshuvah 2:1): “[Who has reached] complete Teshuvah? A person who confronts the same situation in which he sinned when he has the potential to commit [the sin again], and, nevertheless, abstains and does not commit it because of his Teshuvah alone, and not because of fear or a lack of strength.”

It certainly takes a long time to achieve that level of repentance.

Recall when we made New Year’s resolutions. How many of us have already given up? Most people make big resolutions and fall off the wagon within a few days.

The better approach is to set a few small goals and keep to them. That way, we get a few “wins,” which will snowball into bigger and bigger wins. Over time, we’ll see just how far we’ve come.

Sound familiar? It’s the same recipe I have written about in terms of getting out of debt. I think the most successful approach is not to pay off the biggest debt first. Instead, start with the smallest debt. When you knock that out, it’s a huge victory, and that will enable more debts to be paid off.

Yom Kippur is much the same: it is a day of simplicity. No one is trying to impress their friend. There’s nothing fancy here – this day means going back to the basics and getting a fresh start.

I think the Maimonides principle of not repeating our past mistakes can be applied to our financial lives as well. You add money to your investment account. Are you going to try and beat the odds and buy an individual stock, just like you have done in previous years, only to watch your picks do poorly yet again? Or are you going to learn your lesson, and put your money into an index fund?

You must understand that you may not be able to do a 180 and go from financial chaos to financial security in a few months. It’s a long process. And like any process, it’s step-by-step and takes time. And you will make mistakes. But with effort, focus, and the drive to make real change in your situation, you can be successful. This time, next year, you will look back and see just how much you have accomplished.

May we all merit being written “in the book of life, blessing, peace, and good livelihood. May we be remembered and inscribed before You, we and all of Your nation, the House of Israel, for good life and peace.”