Everyone knows that the New Year does not begin in the middle of the winter. Anyone who has ever been a student or lives with a student knows that the New Year begins in the autumn. Firmly rooted in agricultural traditions, one cycle is completed, and another begins as the days take on a different texture and it is time for kids to return to school. This is a time for repose and reflection and to look forward to the excitement of a new year. Concluding the tenach and beginning again finding new insights and learning new lessons.
Autumn is filled with awareness and anticipation.
As a kid growing up in Cleveland, this inevitable cycle manifest itself in small, but memorable ways. New black suede pumps replacing my scuffed white shoes. New wool clothes in place of the sleeveless shirts and shorts I had wore throughout the summer. Red candied apples and round challot with raisins appearing in the neighborhood bakery. Symbols of the season s new beginnings.