By Rabbi Naphtali Hoff
ROI (return on investment) is something that we think about routinely. Investors want to know what type of return they can expect to receive on their money. Students want to know the benefit of pursuing specialized education. People in challenged relationships seek to understand what they can expect to gain from their investment of time and resources into therapy or other interventions.
In most cases, ROI is measured by the Bottom Line. If the effort and investment result in a meaningful profit or gain, then it is considered to be worthwhile. If not, then the ROI is said to negligible and the enterprise not worthy of future outlay. However, there is one notable exception to this rule. It relates particularly to this time of year, when we stand before our Maker in solemn hope that we will experience a positive judgment.
Rav Dessler (Michtav M’Eliyahu, Vol II, pp. 96-97) writes that our judgment rides not on our “bottom line” actions, but on the inner desires and motivators that exist within our hearts. He supports his argument by citing Ramban in Parashas Emor, who writes that Rosh Hashana is a “yom hadin b’rachamim” and Yom Kippur a “yom harachamim b’din.”
The explanation to Ramban’s words, says Rav Dessler, is as follows. Despite the seriousness of Rosh Hashana, we have the capacity to stir divine mercy on that holy day by demonstrating such qualities of giving and compassion towards others. Conversely, we have the ability to transform the compassionate day of Yom Kippur into one of strict judgment if we are unable to engage in meaningful change.
Hashem studies our desires and judges us accordingly. He asks, “What benefit will there be for him if I were to grant him the blessings that he seeks? What is the potential ROI to such a response?” If Hashem can discern a true desire for growth and teshuva within us, then He will see the investment as more worthwhile. If not, then He may see the best recourse to be something very different than what we request, chas v’shalom.
As we approach Hashem in the coming weeks, we should aspire to give Him every opportunity to view us as individuals and a community who are on an upwards trajectory, deserving of inscription in the Book of Life.
I wish us all a k’siva v’chasima tova.
Rabbi Naphtali Hoff, a Passaic resident, is an executive coach and President of Impactful Coaching and Consulting. He can be reached at 212.470.6139 or at [email protected].
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Right now, I must commend Rabbi Hoff for his comments, but I meerly want to add some personal insight.
Given that you are seeking to bless Torah in your lives, what you are doing is blessings and not investment. There is no “return on investment”, because the only investment is your future. The return is that you get to live.
So the real answer is not what do you get back, but what did you put in.
Every soul must be repaired. No one has ever lived that did not make an error of judgment or at worst a satanic decision.
Overall, I have in my years repaired my world. There is still much to do.
But if you want Torah, you must become the priest that Torah is designed to become in your lives.
Thus there in lies the return on investment.
Best wishes for a productive and peaceful 5775.