September is here. For those who follow the lunar cycle, Elul is here for you too. It is said that the King is in the Field, so here is the opportunity for one and all to go greet the King, and meet his Queen, repent and return, without straying into the desirous strawberry fields of sin.
New York is treating me well. I have had an incredibly busy month with my involvement in ticket sales for the U.S tennis open. Many tickets were sold, making many buyers happy and content. Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis ace easily won the men’s title. I was fortunate enough to go and see the great Fed play his opening match and from the outset, he was always destined. There was a winner in the women’s draw as well, but somehow the details have miraculously slipped from my mind. The tennis is really a good day or night outing, and for you Jewish mothers, you need not even pack food. At the Flushing Meadows Venue in Queens, where the tennis is held, there is a Kosher stand laden with delicacies of a different sort and a menu that is borderline appetising. But to go to the tennis in New York and not sample a tasteless hotdog would be akin to visiting London and not having a warm beer.
I jet out to Israel G-d willing, in the next few days to spend the High Holidays and the festival of Booths with my siblings who reside in Jerusalem. Excitement is abuzz and I am psyching myself for my visit. It has been too long since I was last amongst the holy terrain and spiritual metropolis of Jerusalem. I am looking forward to walking through the many ancient and holy roads, praying by the Western Wall, scouring the Ben Yehuda bazaar and beckoning in the New Year. If anyone happens to be in the vicinity during October, please let me know, I would love for you to make a blessing, and drink a beer (Israeli style) in my sisters Sukkah.
I am progressing further in the process for my admission as an Attorney at Law in New York. I intend on taking the Barbri course, a course that many great legal minds have used for admission into the State of New York as a practicing lawyer. The course runs from December to February, followed by the bar exam, held at the end of February 2009. The New York Bar exam is notorious by nature, but I am determined and motivated, to complete the studies and take the Bar.
Climate change is certainly being evidenced over here in the North, as we settle into the season of Autumn/Fall. I do not intend to raise issues as to climate change and weather because with so many theories, I doubt the interest level exists for another theorist to view an opinion on the matter. However, the days are becoming shorter, the nights longer, as we herald in the new Jewish Year. Scarves and gloves are being purchased; sweaters and boots are in demand as we witness, once again the beginning of another new season.
September is a special time in New York, as New Yorkers commemorate and remember the deadly terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. For some, it is hoped that the destruction of human life and physical being, was only a bad nightmare. Others have accepted the tragedy and live in hope for the new tomorrow. As we bring in the New Year, let us pray and request from G-d for his protection and guidance and assist us in our battle against the evil and treacherous world that we live in.
So in a message for the New Year, let us not live vicariously, live and dream the good, that life has to offer.
So as we bid farewell to Elul and September, let us think and reconsider our position for the New Year. Because if one doesn’t, they might as well request to ‘wake me up when September ends’.
A happy and sweet New Year.
Shlomy Lederman
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