Teshuvah, Tefillah and Tzedakah: The Spiritual Side of Financial Planning

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we say that teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah—return, prayer and charitable giving—can transform the severity of the decree.

These words can also provide a meaningful framework for the spiritual side of financial planning.

As a financial planner, I spend a great deal of time thinking about numbers: savings, investments, income, expenses and retirement projections. But the numbers are rarely what matter most.

What matters is what those numbers allow us to do.

Hashem has provided us with so many opportunities: the ability to earn a living, receive an education, support our families, build communities and perform mitzvot. Financial planning helps us think carefully about how we will use those opportunities.

It is not only about accumulating more money or earning a higher investment return. It is about recognizing our blessings, correcting past mistakes and creating a plan to use what Hashem has given us to make a difference.

Teshuvah: Looking Back and Choosing Differently

Teshuvah means returning. It begins with honestly reviewing the past year and asking what we could do differently.

Financially, perhaps we spent without paying enough attention. Maybe we delayed saving, avoided an important conversation or postponed a decision we knew we needed to make.

Perhaps there is a subscription we no longer use, a retirement account we have not reviewed or a stack of financial statements we keep meaning to organize. Maybe we intended to speak with our spouse about a financial concern, update our estate documents or develop a more thoughtful plan for giving tzedakah.

Most of us have at least one financial decision that we know deserves attention.

But teshuvah is not about beating ourselves up. It is about recognizing where we are and choosing a better direction.

What is one financial change you can make this year?

Perhaps you can eliminate one unnecessary expense, increase a savings contribution, begin an overdue financial conversation or finally address a decision you have been postponing.

We do not need to fix everything at once. We just need to begin.

One clear step can create momentum. A thoughtful plan can then help us connect that step to the rest of our financial lives and turn a good intention into meaningful action.

Tefillah: Gratitude and Praying for Others

Tefillah gives us an opportunity to speak to Hashem and recognize how much we already have.

We can be grateful to live in the United States, where we have tremendous freedom and opportunity. We can be grateful to be Jewish and to have access to Torah, Jewish education, shuls and strong communities.

We can appreciate our families, health, education, careers and the people who helped us reach this point.

Gratitude does not mean that everything is perfect. There may be real financial pressures, uncertainty and responsibilities that sometimes feel overwhelming. Gratitude means that even while facing those challenges, we pause to recognize the blessings and opportunities Hashem has already provided.

Tefillah can also move our attention beyond ourselves.

We can daven for someone who needs healing, a family struggling financially, a friend looking for work or someone trying to find the right path.

One of my favorite ideas is to daven for other people to become more successful.

Look at the donor list of a school, shul or charitable organization. Instead of comparing ourselves to those who can give more, we can ask Hashem to bless them with the ability to continue doing good—and to give many more people the opportunity to join them.

Imagine what our schools, shuls and community organizations could accomplish if their supporters became even more successful and even more generous.

That change in perspective moves us away from jealousy and comparison and toward gratitude, generosity and shared success.

Tzedakah: Giving Success a Greater Purpose

Tzedakah is not simply something we give after we become successful. It can be one of the reasons we want to succeed.

If your income, business or investments grow this year, what additional mitzvot will you be able to perform?

Could you give more tzedakah, help fund Jewish education, strengthen a community organization or assist a family in need? Could you help your children or grandchildren build meaningful Jewish lives? Could you devote more time to Torah, family and community because you have greater financial freedom?

These questions can change the way we think about financial goals.

Instead of simply setting a goal to earn or accumulate a particular amount, we can decide what we want that money to make possible.

We can even plan for our generosity in advance. If our income increases, perhaps a portion of that increase will automatically go toward tzedakah. If our investments reach a certain level, perhaps we will help fund a particular community need.

Do not think only about how much you hope to earn, save or invest. Think about the good you want that money to accomplish—and then create a financial plan that reflects it.

Why Will This Year Be Different?

Perhaps this year will be different because you will connect your financial goals to something more meaningful.

You will not simply save more—you will remember for whom and what you are saving for.

We do not control every result. That remains in Hashem’s hands. But we can make our hishtadlut. We can reflect, daven, give, plan and act.

If you are reading this before or after Yom Tov, write down your answers. If you are reading this on Yom Tov, simply take a few quiet minutes to think about them:

• One financial change you want to make.
• One blessing for which you want to thank Hashem.
• One person who is struggling and needs your tefillot.
• One successful person whose continued success enables Torah, tzedakah or chesed.
• One way you hope to use your own success to help someone else.

Although these questions are especially meaningful around Rosh Hashanah, they are not limited to the Yamim Noraim. This reflection can be done daily—or whenever you happen to read this and want to reconnect your financial goals with a greater purpose.

May Hashem bless all of us with health, clarity and financial success in the upcoming year—and may we use that success to care for our families, strengthen our communities and bring more Torah, tzedakah and chesed into the world.

Joel Greenberg, MBA Financial Planner, Prudential Advisors,
joel.greenberg@prudential.com, 301‐517‐6554