Towards a meaningful new year

The hours are counting down here in Jerusalem and my marvelous roommate and I are gearing up for the festive meal we are making tonight for family and friends.

Many people have a tradition of eating certain foods whose Hebrew name sounds like something we want in the coming year (“Silka” or beets, sounds like the “siluk,” meaning “removal.” “may our adversaries be removed.” etc.) Believing that religion is only as meaningful as you make it, we’ve left behind traditional simanim like leeks and lambs heads (ewwww), and invented our own which are meaningful to us. So, in addition to the real meal, we are serving such things as:

Peas – For Peas on Earth
Berries – For a Berry good year
Hearts of Palm – For not hardening our hearts to the suffering of our fellow man
Salat – For Salaam with our neighbors
Lettuce – Lettuce pursue justice
Olive – We should olive in a way of self honesty, pursuing opportunities for growth

and of course, corn, for the courage to be corny.

A lot has happened in my life the past year I don’t really know what I believe in going into this holiday season. I’m not quite sure how or where to connect, but I’m pretty sure that’s my own fault. Inspiration doesn’t just fall upon you, you have to seek it out ruthlessly (a lesson I should have retained from film school), so anyway, here’s wishing myself and everyone else a year of honest searching, because life is so much grander when you are living inspired.

By the way, we decided second day’s lunch will be a pot luck in the park, where we can all lay on the grass and digest two days worth of binge eating, anyone in Jerusalem is invited to come down to Gan Hapa’amon and join us!

PS, I want to repeat what I said in a comment, which was that if anything I have written has caused pain or distress to anyone, I am sincerly sorry, it was never intended to hurt, and I hope you can forgive me.