Did you miss me?  I took “Leslie’s Laptop” with me on vacation, but decided to take a break.  I had been thinking of writing about the secular New Year from the Jewish point of view, but it seems that my friend Alia Ramer got to that topic first, or rather someone making a guest appearance on Alia’s blog, Our Tribe and Joy (www.njjewishnews.com/tribe) did.  My take was going to be on how great it is to have one New Year observance for thinking seriously about our internal lives and our obligations to our fellow human beings, vowing teshuvah and repentance and to have another one for simple celebration and perhaps a resolution or two about more superficial self-improvement (weight loss, closet cleaning and checkbook resolution come to mind and disappear just as easily.)

I am looking forward to the start of 2010 – although I’m wondering just how long it will take for me to get used to the new numbering (I know it’s not really a new decade, but still, it feels different this way, doesn’t it?)  There are lots of things to look forward to in this new year- and not much to miss about 2009, was there?  I’ll be going to Israel soon, as part of the national Heart 2 Heart Mission sponsored by the National Women’s Philanthropy Board.  For those of you who have been reading all along, you know that Israel is a very special place for me and I can’t wait to go on this trip, especially because there will be many women on this mission who have either never been to Israel or who haven’t been in many years.  It is always a privilege to be in Israel, and there is nothing to replace one’s first visit, but the opportunity to be with someone as they experience Israel for the first time is very special.

There are lots of other things coming up on the Women’s Philanthropy calendar – Philanthropy 101s, Women’s Awareness Day – keep your eyes on the UJC website and on Leslie’s Laptop – no more breaks for a while!

Have a wonderful first week of 2010!
Leslie