Note to readers: this post began composition on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. But life trumps blogging, and it managed to take a few days to make it to the blog as a published post. So go back in time a few days for proper timeline perspective, and read to your heart's (eyes?) delight. Shana Tovah to all.
Another Year (older? wiser?)
Sundown this evening begins Rosh [1] Hashanah [2], the Jewish New Year [3]. 5768. Soon we will have lived through our second series of the 60's. And as we age, the old joke will be even more acute: if you can remember the 60's you probably weren't there.
Over the past few years the High Holy Days have been a somber, morose period for me. September 11th continues to color the moment, to taint the sense of celebration. The sadness of that day, the memory of the impact on New Yorkers (and Pennsylvanians and Pentagon people), and the growing sense of another attack being closer not farther, weigh heavily.
Here in New York there are televised hours of remembrance ceremonies at Ground Zero; gripping, deeply moving, with a level of sadness bringing back the events and the aftermath. More so reminding and renewing the emotions of six years ago. Seeing, yet again, the mourners wearing pictures around their necks of their lost loved ones, also evokes memories of those days after the attack:. The pain, the despair, the helplessness . . . New Yorkers scrambling through the streets in search of the loved ones on those photos, in a refuse-to-give-up-hope quest. It is difficult to recall the pattern that emerged: the pain, the whittling away of hope, the realization and then the slow process of adjusting to the reality of the loss.
There, it happened again. Oi vey. Start out to write a Rosh Hashanah post, morph into a September 11 rant. Feh. Among the most-read items in this blog is a post [4] from a few years ago at this time, Apples Honey, Caution [4].
Rather than dwell on on a rant, let me refer to that post [4], which is long, but evokes more comment (oddly, via e-mail as opposed to on-blog posted comments) and continued discussion than almost all of the many other posts in this space.
There are loads of links peppered (embedded?) throughout this post. They include definitions [5] of the holiday, discussions of Rosh Hashanah, articles [6] and posts about Judaism and the meaning of the holiday [7]. But mostly they serve as my way of sharing with you some of what I found when looking for reference [8] and expansion [9] to include in this entry. One link [10] likens thoughts of the Jewish New Year to Moses, faith, and non-violence [10]. That's surely worth a click [10]!
This period, the High Holy Days, begins with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom [11] Kippur [12], the Day of Atonement. The High Holy days are also known as The Days of Awe [13]. Do not confuse this with shock & awe [14], a confusing, erroneous phrase regarding the reception invading soldiers [15] might receive in the fantasy of an amoral [16] neocon [17] powercrat [18], one who causes great embarrassment to proper thinking citizens of a certain nation [19].
On a more upbeat and positive note: this year the mood is not as somber and morose as in years past. Optimism, warmth, greater feelings of community, trust, inclusion and warmth are occupying my mind and my mood. Reasons to be happy (I can hear that in my mind's ear as the title a lilting, banging and clanging punk tune) abound.
Maybe the moon and the stars, or perhaps more spiritual forces with which (whom?) I am not in such close touch, have decided to send some positive energy in this direction. If so, then humbly and happily accepted. A year older, for sure. Wiser? Sure hope so.
Apples, honey, and still a little caution to all.