4 January 2012 | 9 Tevet 5772

It always rubs me wrong when people greet me, as some did last week, with “Happy Secular New Year.”  Do they think I may not know which new year January 1 represents?  Of course not.  No, I think out of respect for me, they are simply distinguishing between the Jewish new year and the Gregorian calendar new year in a manner they think I will appreciate.  

We have better ways of distinguishing between these two new year’s days.  As for greetings, though we may wish someone a “Happy and Healthy New Year” during the High Holidays, our normal greeting ought to be a Hebrew one, “Shana Tova.”  Of course, there are other obvious ways that we distinguish between these two new year’s days.  Celebrations, how we spend our time in relationship to these days and what we focus on are all different in significant ways.

I find sometimes that, as Jews, we completely differentiate between Rosh Hashana and New Year’s Day and, as a result, celebrate these times in utterly different ways.  To the extent that I am correct, I think that practice is to our detriment.

Maybe even more than the days leading up to the High Holidays, the usual pre – New Year’s activity lull provides us with a perfect time for reflection, recognition and resolution to change.  Many times, I find traditional New Year’s resolutions to be frivolous.  They shouldn’t be.  As we reflect and reach some conclusions, why should our actions be any less serious and beneficial than those prescribed by our tradition that we were to have undertaken several months ago?

The Gregorian calendar provides us a second chance.  True, the calendar has now passed January 1.  The new year has already begun, and we are returning to our normal schedules.  But in reality the calendar is also controlled by the media.  If so, then the “new year” really does not come to end until next Monday, January 8 when Alabama and LSU decide the BCS Championship, and things really return to normal!

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to wish me or any other member of the Jewish community, “Happy New Year.”  More importantly, use this precious time to set the right course for you throughout 2012.

I wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy year in 2012.