Auld Lang Syne

It's only a few hours before the New Year will begin, so I felt this was a good time for a little bit of reflection.

Side bar: The shuk was ablaze with activity.  Every one was buying apples, honey, pomegranates (rimonim), dates (tamar), round challot, wine, meat, and dessert snacks.  I think it might have been busier than a Friday shuk day!  I noticed a lot of fruits I have never seen before, like "chafushim" and "gyuvah."  I couldn't find a translation for them.  Perhaps next time I'll actually buy them, but I had bigger priorities.  It was nice to see more dragonfruit.  I've made my class fall in love with them!

OK, now it's time for the real reflections.

This time last year, I was lost.  I graduated college with absolutely no direction.  I thought I knew what I wanted to do, teach English as a Second Language, but it never panned out.  In fact, it led to dead ends: a program to South Korea that never responded back to me, trouble registering for non-matriculating classes at Kean, and frustration across the board. 

Around Rosh Hashanah last year, I started putting two and two together: what are the things I always find solace in life?  Music, naturally.  Judaism.  Community.  I prayed with my temple at a High Holiday service for the first time in 5 years, and all the old juices from my high school years flowed through me.  There was finally some comfort.  I prayed for a sign of what to do, and God truly provided. 

Flash forward to today.  I am here, Jerusalem, the holy city.  I am perhaps 2-3 km away from some of the holiest sites in the world.  Every morning, I wake up to the sound of cats mewing in the streets, shops opening on Ben Yehuda, and by my inner desire and push to succeed and achieve.  Sometimes, I still can't quite believe I'm here.  Yet, I continue to have the signs from God that this is the right path.  It'll be little things: a smile from a little child on the street, a gentle breeze through the trees during my first Shabbat as a matriculated student, and the feeling of being back with my ancestors in PolandLithuaniaUkraineRussiaEastEurope when I hear the choir of the Great Synagogue. 

This year, 5772, is going to be the best.

We say this every year, but somehow I feel this is actually going to be true this year.  First, I have the companionship of my 37 classmates plus their children/spouses.  Second, I have the support of my teachers, the administration, and the staff of the school.  Then, there's the people of Jerusalem itself.  I can't quite put this one to words, but when I tell someone I'm a Student of Chazanut, I always see this little star flicker in his/her eyes.  It's truly remarkable. 

What are my goals for this year:
-get better in Hebrew (duh)
-learn to be a better team player and team leader at the same time
-step out of my comfort zone on a regular basis, and extend the comfort zone
-be a better student
-learn to overcome my issue of hearing someone tune a guitar
-live it up; there's plenty of time to be very serious later
-by order of my sister: eat falafel

I welcome any visitor to my site to post some of their hopes and dreams for the year. May we all be inspired to help each other accomplish goals.

L'shanah tovah u'mtukah.
!לשנה טובה ומתוקה

"Auld Lang Syne" is that great song we instinctively sing every January 1 at precisely 12:00 AM.