{"id":53303,"date":"2016-03-01T13:45:47","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T18:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=53303"},"modified":"2016-03-01T13:45:47","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T18:45:47","slug":"warren-buffet-isnt-jewish-but-his-lessons-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/warren-buffet-isnt-jewish-but-his-lessons-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren Buffet Isn’t Jewish, But His Lessons Are"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Warren
Warren Buffet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warren Buffett repeatedly says that he does not give stock tips.\u00a0 Instead he gives out wisdom in the form of certain principles.\u00a0 His gift is his extraordinary ability to relate those principles in a manner that is succinct, entertaining, compelling, and easily understood, often employing the use of aphorisms and parables.<\/p>\n

On the surface, the principles of Warren Buffett are about mundane matters like investing in the stock market, running businesses, and understanding financial reports.\u00a0 Taken at face value, his principles are sound advice, and those who have followed them properly can attest to their efficacy.<\/p>\n

Many ancient Jewish religious texts, Biblical and Talmudic, also appear on the surface to give sound investment advice.\u00a0 For instance in the book of Proverbs we find,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wise one gathers in the summer.\u201d[i]<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHarm awaits him who cosigns for a stranger.\u201d[ii]<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne who spreads out [his wealth] will see a profit.\u201d[iii]<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The simple understanding of these verses is that you should invest your money at the right time, run background checks on potential business associates, and diversify your portfolio.\u00a0 All good advice.\u00a0 However Jewish tradition has always understood these verses allegorically.\u00a0 The surface meaning has some value, but if the verses are deciphered properly, the discerning reader will find hidden meanings that are \u201cbetter than rubies, and no goods can equal it.\u201d[iv]<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In the same way, Warren Buffett\u2019s principles can be viewed as parables, and a discerning person who studies his writings and speeches will find that they contain pearls of wisdom that lead to treasures far more valuable than money.<\/p>\n

\"product_thumbnail\"Over the last few years I became a student of Warren Buffett, but not in the financial sense.\u00a0 I have read his teachings looking for deeper meaning and I have found lessons about morality, ethics, and character development that are consistent with the values of the Torah and Jewish tradition.<\/p>\n

This book is not another book about Warren Buffett\u2019s life.\u00a0 It is one rabbi\u2019s reflection on the principles, the ideals, and the values that I learned from his writings and speeches.<\/p>\n

There are many good books already written about Warren Buffett, and I am sure many more will be written in the future.\u00a0 This book does not claim to be authoritative, and it is certainly not exhaustive.\u00a0 The quotations found in the following pages represent a small sample of the wisdom that I found in the hundreds of pages that I read, and in the dozens of hours of videos that I watched over the last few years.<\/p>\n

Warren Buffett is not Jewish.\u00a0 He is a value investor, which means, simply put, he searches for bargains.\u00a0 And what is more Jewish than that?<\/p>\n

Although anti\u2013Semites have tried to shame Jews for their ability to save money, the Jewish ability to bargain, to Jew <\/i>down the price, is not a vice, but a great virtue.\u00a0 The hunt for a bargain is really a quest to get full value<\/i> for every dollar spent.\u00a0 It demonstrates an understanding that money is only a means.\u00a0 When a person acquires money he acquires the responsibility of finding the most efficient way to spend it on the goods and services that will provide the greatest value.<\/p>\n

As Warren Buffett\u2019s mentor Benjamin Graham put it, \u201cPrice is what you pay, value is what you get.\u201d[v]<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This concept can be illustrated in a famous story about the last teaching from the great Rabbi Elijah the Gaon, the Genius of Vilna.<\/p>\n

In the year 1796 Rabbi Elijah fell ill.\u00a0 Knowing that his days were numbered he called for his family and his students.\u00a0 When they arrived he took hold of his tzitzit, the Biblically mandated fringes[vi]<\/b><\/span> that hung from his garment, and he held them up and said, \u201cThis garment that I bought for a few pennies, by wearing it each day I was able to attain a valuable reward for fulfilling the word of God.\u00a0 In the world to come, even so simple a deed will not be possible.\u201d[vii]<\/b><\/span>\u00a0 As he left this world for the world to come, he wept because he was leaving behind the investment opportunities that only exist in this world.<\/p>\n

Judaism views this world as an antechamber to the next world.[viii]<\/b><\/span>\u00a0 Our challenge in this world is to accumulate as much merit as we possibly can while we are here.\u00a0 Throughout life we make choices of where to spend our time, money, and energy.\u00a0 That is the price we pay.\u00a0 The consequence of our life choices is the value we get.\u00a0 The principles that guide those choices are our values.<\/p>\n

This is an excerpt from Rabbi Jon Gross’s book, Value Investing: An Omaha Rabbi Learns Torah from Warren Buffet<\/em>. The book is available for purchase here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[i]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proverbs 10:5<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proverbs 11:15<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proverbs 11:24<\/p>\n

[iv]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proverbs 8:11<\/p>\n

[v]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Annual Letter 2008<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Numbers 13<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Irving M. Bunim, Ethics from Sinai: An Eclectic Wide\u2013ranging Commentary on Pirke Avoth<\/i>, (Feldheim, 1966), Vol.2, 152<\/p>\n

[viii]<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pirkei Avot 4:21<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Warren Buffett repeatedly says that he does not give stock tips.\u00a0 Instead he gives out wisdom in the form of certain principles.\u00a0 His gift is his extraordinary ability to relate those principles in a manner that is succinct, entertaining, compelling, and easily understood, often employing the use of aphorisms and parables. On the surface, the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133175,"featured_media":53304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","category-money"],"yoast_head":"\nWarren Buffet Isn't Jewish, But His Lessons Are - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/warren-buffet-isnt-jewish-but-his-lessons-are\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Warren Buffet Isn't Jewish, But His Lessons Are - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Warren Buffett repeatedly says that he does not give stock tips.\u00a0 Instead he gives out wisdom in the form of certain principles.\u00a0 His gift is his extraordinary ability to relate those principles in a manner that is succinct, entertaining, compelling, and easily understood, often employing the use of aphorisms and parables. 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