“Thou Shall Not Covet”

Many people try to go to the most inspiring davening they can during the yomim noraim. Some make it their business to daven with their yeshivah or at least a yeshivah. Others go to their rebbe or an especially inspiring congregation.
One Rosh Hashanah, a certain man davened in a very worthy minyan and wished to purchase an aliyah. He bid a respectable price for it but his friend outbid him.
After Rosh Hashanah he was shocked to find that he still harbored a feeling of jealousy toward his friend who had procured the aliyah. He immediately wrote to Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a, to ascertain if he had violated the prohibition against coveting.
“It depends,” Rav Kanievsky replied. “If you are jealous because of the spiritual advantage that your friend attained by getting the aliyah on Rosh Hashanah, you did not violate the prohibition. But if you are jealous of the honor that was bestowed on your friend, it is quite possible that you have violated the lav.”
The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, warned against a circumstance in which many people violate this prohibition. “This prohibition is often violated by chasanim who impose on their unwilling prospective in-laws by asking for material goods that were not agreed upon during the tanaim. Even though the in-laws give these articles as a gift to the new couple, the chasan still violates the lav of לא תחמוד when he employs pressure to secure material benefits for himself that were not part of their original agreement.”