Tantur Ecumenical Institute: A September New Year
#Palestine, #Israel
Greetings from Tantur!
On the Jewish calendar, we have just marked the start of 5774, a period marked by a seemingly endless litany of Jewish feasts, each with their own unique practices and delightful disruption of the local routine.
For Jews and non-Jews, locals and expatriates alike, September is truly the start of another year. The endless summer heat finally gives way to cooler climates and a touch of clouds, as grapes and pomegranates ripen. The warm-blooded of our staff and residents begin to reach for a light jacket, while everyone enjoys a bask in the slightly diminished rays of the afternoon sun.
Our academic and program cycle begins as well, starting as always with the Three Month Sabbatical Program, which is currently underway and heading into its second month at the time of this writing. We welcome back those who took their summer vacations and welcome in our new residents. And as grapes and pomegranates give way to olives (and still more olives), let us rejoice in God’s many blessings and many renewals in the Holy Land and beyond.