Preventing the Great Trump-Harris Heist

When it comes to the greatest asset all of us have, Warren Buffet said it best, “I can buy anything I want, but I can’t buy time.” 

It was July 2016, and I had worked at a high-tech company in Netanya for two years. Watching the company grow from a small startup to a big business was bittersweet.  It was fulfilling to know that I played a role in helping an endeavor sprout from a small seed to something big enough to grow fruit. It was bitter to realize that with so many more people in my department, my role kept getting smaller and smaller.  

Thanking my CEO for an amazing experience, I left to create my own application. I rented a co-working space in Herzliya and got started.  

July 2016 was when Donald J. Trump was nominated as the Republican candidate for American president. I think November 7, 2012, the day after Barrack Obama won his second and final term as president, was the day the Democrats nominated Hillary Clinton.   

Troubled Times 

Both Trump and Hillary were controversial and unprecedented candidates. Social media went wild. Every minute, there was a new post about something Donald Trump said, and every minute, there was another post about how Hillary Clinton reacted.  

By October, the race was a nail-biter. Nobody knew who would win. Every second, the news, internet, and social media bombarded us with a breaking story.  

We couldn’t focus on anything else. I got my application done, but a month later than expected. I got my marketing done, but two months later than expected.  

Six months later, I returned to work full-time. The application went from a dream startup to a small side business.  

Running From Re-Election 

Come July 2020, I was determined not to make the same mistake twice. In the months leading up to the election, I was diligent about avoiding the news.  

Somehow, it wasn’t a problem. Joe Biden wasn’t someone you followed on social media all the time. His strategy was to stay quiet and let President Trump talk himself into a corner.  

In 2020, it was much easier to focus on work. 

The Chofetz Chaim was passionate about the value of a single moment. In a minute, you can learn a Mishnah. You can learn a mussar. You can recite a Psalm. You can learn something new in the Torah you never knew before.   

In a minute, you can make a life changing decision to make a big repentance.  

Time is one of the greatest gifts Hashem gives us: Momentous moments. 

The BIG Test of 2024 

Our biggest tests are when the world around us tries to devour these moments with distractions.  

These past months have been an earthquake and whirlwind all in one: We’ve had an assassination attempt, a sitting president replaced in the middle of an election, and a woman of color running for office.  

Kamala Harris has the social media appeal of Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton. So does Donald Trump.  

This election will have the electricity of 2016.  

If we aren’t careful, the momentous moments Hashem gives us to pursue His greatness can be devoured by distraction.  

How valuable is a moment? What does God invest in us for every second of our existence? 

• God puts half a billion alveoli into your lungs so you can breathe.  

• Hashem gives you 10 trillion electrical synapses inside your brain so you can think. 

• He gives you 20 trillion red blood cells throughout your body so you can move.  

Our Father gives us near-infinite gifts so we can exist for a mere moment.  The greatest expression of thanks we can offer our Father is not to waste any moment.  

Time 

It’s common sense to check the news every day, but it’s even greater common sense to equate our consumption of current events to eating chocolate.  In moderation, it’s healthy, but if we overindulge, it will kill us.  

I use an application called Freedom.to. I can tell it which websites I don’t want to see and what hours of the day I don’t want to see them.  

It will prevent me from seeing sites I should avoid when I am doing more important things, such as learning Torah, being with my family, and working on my parnasa (income). 

I usually let the system “allow” me to see a single news site throughout the day, and I turn it off the last hour I’m on the computer.  

It works. I get my fill without wasting the day. I can be informed without squandering the gifts Hashem gives me to fulfill His will.  

Hashem rewards according to the effort.  

My beautiful brothers and sisters: If you can pull off staying focused on what’s important over the next three months, the reward might be greater than you can imagine.  

May Hashem bless us with the vision and determination to hold onto as many momentous moments possible.  

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David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, millions of sunflowers, and Matilda, our local camel. David‘s Israeli startup, 300 Marketing Solutions, is a lean marketing agency for startups and small businesses that creates and promotes SEO-optimized ROI-driven to the right audience on LinkedIn to make your business the star of the show.