This time of year is more appropriate for a New Years celebration than mid-winter. The seasons are changing. The trees will start to lose their leaves, hibernating for the winter season. In the Jewish tradition, we celebrate the new year. We put the old year to bed. We forgive and ask for forgiveness.
I love this time of year. I have lived in New York for 10 years now. It’s official. I moved here in September 2000. In New York, there is perhaps nothing as welcome as a cool breeze after a hot summer. Summers in New York are something special, between the heat radiated up from below, the stagnant air that bathes you in the scent of day-old trash, the particles of whatever that stick to your face, your shoulders, your feet as your skin moistens while you tread down and back from the subway. I love this city. But autumn in New York is a huge relief. It’s like the world is exhaling. And something fresh is coming to our shores.
What better time for a new year?