September always feels like the beginning of the year rather than the lead-up to the end, doesn’t it? Kids are starting new grades at school, that crisp air wakens us from our summer lethargy, and we are all recommitting to the work we ignored in the heat. (Unless you live in SF. Then: what heat? You’ve been frozen solid for months.)
It’s literally the beginning as well, for some: Rosh Hashanah starts tonight! (Which is the new year, for those paying attention to the Hebrew calendar).
I hear the Irish are the lost tribe, but I am connected to Rosh Hashanah not through my heritage but through work; I have a temple job singing for high holidays (affectionately known as Hi Hos). So shortly I’ll be warbling away to greet the new year. No honey or apples will be involved, but four-part a-cappella harmony is sweetness enough for a music addict like me.
For all starting something new around this time, I say:
