THE NEW YEAR

     No, I am not rushing the season. I am talking about the Jewish New Year which is not celebrated with drinks and merriment, but with prayer, atonement, devotion and hope. Often families get together for a festive meal after the prayers for the day and we remember what is important - family and love, rather than power and hate.
     It is both a time of solemnity and joy at the same time. We ask and pray that our faults, our errors over the past year be forgiven and that we be inscribed in the Book of Life. We ask for pardon from G-d and from those people we have wronged. Only they can do that.
     It is a time to think and rethink our lives. It is a time to calculate whether we have contributed to the world, to its good, or have we shirked our responsibilities and only added to the burden of Earth and its population?
     I hope that I have been forgiven by both G-d and those I have wronged. I hope that my blogs have contributed something to the world. I hope that the love I have for my family, for Gerry, my kids and their kids and my extended family add to the scales of goodness and hope.
     This year has been  a hard one. We celebrated our fiftieth anniversary  with a wonderful party full of friends and family just at the same time that I received a diagnosis of Parkinson's. A kiss and a slap. Which would be the stronger one in the following year and years that follow? But in the midst of the fear and trepidation, I have found new friends, supportive people who put aside their own pain to help others, young people who have taken it upon themselves to work with those who need their help and guidance. I have found laughter with them and hey, I got muscles!!!!!
      I am thankful to the Lord Above for all that He has given me, allowed me to enjoy, encouraged my growth. I am thankful for the kids and parents from my career who still maintain contact. My friends and family have given me sustenance for the soul and I so appreciate them.
     So next Monday and Tuesday, G-d willing, I will say my prayers, have a chat with G-d, and hope he sees it my way. I will forget the bad that remains outside of the synagogue, within the country and the world and add to my thoughts and prayers that these things be fixed with proper guidance. And I hope that I will have a Happy and Healthy New Year, a year with joy and love, and a year where we all try and succeed to better our living situations. 
    Shanah Tova Ticatevu Ve Taychatamu

   May you all have a good year and be written and sealed in the Book of Life.

















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