Take This Personally, Have a Great Year!

The new Jewish Year, 5772, starts tonight.  Maybe this year, I'll learn to remember what year it is.  Ever since I began celebrating Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the Jewish Month at Tel Shiloh praying with other women, I've always known what Jewish Month we're in.  And sometimes I've even known the date, or close to it.  Since the months are lunar, you can get a good idea by looking at the moon.  If you see a totally full moon, then it must be the 15th of the month.  A half moon is either the 7th or the 21st, and a sliver is either the beginning or the end.

Now, if bli neder (please don't take this as an oath) I try to remember to write the Jewish year, I guess that this is a good one to start with, 5772.  That's because it has two 7's in the middle, surrounded by 5 + 2 = 7.  OK, let's see if I can begin to learn it.  The harder version is the real one, in Hebrew  תשע"ב. But now that I've written about it, maybe it'll somehow stick in my mind.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a year of blessings.  G-d should bless you with the ability to be truly rich.  And what's a rich man according to Chazal, our sages?  A rich man is שמח בחלקו same'ach b'chelko, happy with his portion.  We must learn to see the blessings, the humor and the goodness in all, including our greatest challenges, especially the things we can't change, have no control over.

שנה טובה

Shannah Tovah

A Good Year

גמר חתימה טובה

G'mar Chatimah Tovah

Literally: A good final sealing

Idiomatically: May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for Good