Surviving an assassination attempt gave me a new appreciation for the High Holidays.

[elleng]

Gabrielle Giffords

Last year, I celebrated Rosh Hashanah services on Mount Lemmon, a small mountain that overlooks my home in Tucson, Ariz. We started doing this during the pandemic for safety reasons, but I hope we’ll continue to do it in years to come.

On Mount Lemmon, I look out over the desert landscape. I listen to the familiar voice of my rabbi with the noise of the mountain around me — birds and a buzzing mosquito here and there. We are celebrating the birth of the world in the world, starting the Days of Awe in awe of our surroundings. It is a profound gift.

I have always loved this time of year, but I’ve experienced Rosh Hashanah differently since I was shot ten years ago. Before January 8th, 2011, the New Year was a celebration, but a given — not a gift. It came around every fall, like clockwork.

After surviving an assassination attempt, learning to walk and talk again, and rebuilding a new life for myself, every new year feels like a small miracle, a victory over despair and defeat. I do not take a new year for granted now, and I never will again.

https://forward.com/opinion/475580/surviving-an-assassination-attempt-gave-me-a-new-appreciation-for-the-high/?

[summer_in_TX]

1. Thank you for sharing this.

I so admire Gaby Giffords.

[AZLD4Candidate]

2. Mazel tov, fellow landsman

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Thank you.

I grew up partially in Tucson. Went to high school there. Graduated from Amphitheater High School in 1965. I was in Tucson and at a nearby hotel for a high school reunion less than a week before Gabrielle Giffords was shot.

I've been back many times. To visit family, friends, attend high school reunions. I've even attended the adult astronomy camp at the University of Arizona run by the amazing Don McCarthy. My Son The Astronomer attended that camp three times, once as a beginner, twice as an advanced camper. It's a phenomenal experience. But it won't last a lot longer. When I attended the adult camp about a decade ago, I asked Don, who is my age, who will take it over when he retires. He said, probably no one. He can't imagine doing that camp as a viable thing for a younger astronomer, and is very sensitive to the career aspects of that kind of thing.

Honestly, I do hope someone else comes along who says, Not a problem, I'll do the astronomy camp and that it goes on for a very long time.

But until then, if you think you'd be interested, sign up as soon as possible.

[MyMission]

4. Last year, hearing the shofar outdoors was remarkable

My Jewish DNA registered and recognized the sound, as it was meant to be heard. A shofar, a rams horn, signalling, alerting, like a clarion call, sound traveling far and wide.
It struck me that hearing it inside a sanctuary wasn't how it was meant to be heard.

Great article. Thanks for sharing it.