Happy Chanukah from My Family to Yours

Happy Chanukah! For me, it’s one of my favorite times of the year. Why you may ask? Because I get to spend time with my family, I slow down from normal duties and responsibilities and focus on what is really important in life. One has to wonder why we all don’t do that more often.

It is almost like Shabbat for the year. As the secular year comes to a close, I wind down, take stock of how the year went, focus on personal issues, and contemplate how next year will be new and different. Add in a few gifts, latkes and the kids, and the time is perfect. Like Shabbat, you cannot stay in this mode forever, but it is very grounding, it fills my “neshama,” and it is a reminder of what is truly important.

If I had three wishes, I would wish that the politicians who lead our country, on both sides of the aisle, could feel this spirit. I would wish that the leaders of other countries such as Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea could gain the insight that this spirit has to offer. As for the third wish, well that would probably be more personal!

I will head into my personal year-end Shabbat thinking about how I can become a better person next year. A better person to me as well as the people around me. I will contemplate as the year closes what turning 60 means to me, both mentally and physically. Truly consider what I want to accomplish during the next stage in my life. As we close the AJT for a week, I will relax and celebrate Chanukah and New Year’s with my family.

I want to close the year by letting all the employees of the Atlanta Jewish Times how much a value their input and dedication to this newspaper. I want to thank all of our readers for finding the AJT an important part of their monthly lives. I want to thank the Atlanta Jewish community for all their support throughout the year for all the various projects I work on for the betterment of our community. Last, but very much not least, thank you to my family for standing beside me, no matter what.