September 1st: New Beginnings

September 1st is a big day in Israel. It is always the first day of school (as long as teachers don't strike) and the first day that everyone goes back to work after a summer interspersed with vacation days and slow time in the office. This year it is Ariel's first day of his new job and also Madonna's first performance for her tour here in Israel (no connection). In general this day jump starts the year and things finally begin to move after a month of people being out of the office and productivity levels at a minimum.

And then comes Rosh Hashanah.

This year Rosh Hashanah falls only 2 1/2 weeks after September 1st, which means that after these 2 + weeks, Israeli society goes into "chagim mode" (holiday mode), which lasts close to a month. "After the chagim" is the response most often given to any question regarding when something will be ready or when someone will have an answer. Government offices are closed more often than not and even private businesses work on a different time schedule. I remember working for the Anti-Defamation League in the States, a Jewish organization that gave us many of the Jewish holidays off. Whenever someone from a non-Jewish organization needed something during this time period and I had to explain to them that our office was closed, the common response was "what, another holiday?"

In Israel those comments are not heard and instead, people welcome these days off, spend time with their families and ease back into the year. So in truth, the time from September 1st until Rosh Hashanah is just a trial run to test the waters for the year to come.