Every year around this time, I start thinking about what I should take on for the new year.

Maybe I should work on being more patient.

Maybe I should give more tzedakah.

Maybe I should learn consistently, daven with more kavanah, or be more careful with the way I speak.

All good things. All important things.

But if I’m being honest, I also sometimes have this nagging feeling:

I’ve done this before.

I’ve made kabbalos. Some lasted longer than others. And then the year got busy, life took over, and somehow the clarity I had during Elul and the Yamim Noraim slowly faded.

That got me thinking that maybe I’ve been treating the symptoms instead of the core issue.

Because during this time of year, something changes in the way we see life.

We think more about Hashem. More about why we’re here. More about what really matters.

We tend to be more present, more focused, more intentional.

Things that felt so important a few weeks earlier suddenly seem less important. And things we often push to the side suddenly move back to the center.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to carry more of that clarity into the rest of the year?

Obviously, I’m not going to spend the entire year feeling like it’s Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur.

But what if I could do something that keeps bringing me back to those deeper questions?

Something that reminds me, in ordinary life, what I’m really trying to accomplish here?

That’s what struck me when I came across the Values Over Valuables Challenge.

At first, I thought it was another fundraiser or just another initiative.

But when I watched the video, I realized:

This is what I’ve been looking for.

A lot of us live more on autopilot than we realize.

We see what other people do. Standards rise. Things that once looked extravagant start to look normal. Things that once felt optional start to feel necessary.

The VoV Challenge is simple:

Choose one area. One decision. And say:
“I want to make this choice based on what I actually value.”

That’s powerful.

If I’m buying something for my home, choosing clothing, planning a simcha, thinking about a car, a vacation, or a renovation — what is driving the decision?

Is this something that genuinely adds to my life and is right for my family?

Or am I responding to some invisible standard that I never consciously chose?

And then there is the bigger question:

Where is Hashem in any of these decisions?

I don’t mean that every purchase has to become some major spiritual exercise.

But if I believe my life has a purpose, shouldn’t that belief show up somewhere outside of shul?

Shouldn’t it affect how I spend my money, what I admire, what I prioritize, and what I teach my children to admire?

That’s why this feels different to me than another isolated kabbalah.

It’s not asking me to stop enjoying life.
It’s asking me to start choosing my life more consciously.

And I think there’s something freeing about that.

It means I don’t have to run every race.

I don’t have to keep up with every standard.

I get to decide what success looks like in my home.

If more of us did that, I think it could change more than our bank accounts.

It could change the atmosphere in our homes and communities.

Our children could grow up seeing that a family can have a compass.

That not every decision has to be based on what everyone else is doing.

That a simcha can be about the simcha.

A home can be about the people inside it.

And success can be measured by things that don’t come with a price tag.

So this year, I think this may be my kabbalah.

Maybe it can be yours too.

Take the Values Over Valuables Challenge →