Happy Holidays
Today I prepared what should be my final global email for 2009. As such, I took the opportunity to wish my readers Happy Holidays.
I do this every year, in one form or another. I have always been carefully non-sectarian, not wishing to offend anyone. However, as I was searching for images to include in the email, I found one showing a dreidel and some "gelt". These are representations of the Jewish Hannukkah holiday, which begins at sundown on December 11th this year, and ends on December 19th.
Initially I bypassed the image and went on looking for something with snowflakes or trees or a globe or just the words "Happy Holidays". But I ended up returning to the Hannukkah image and including it in the email, along with one that says Happy Holidays but also shows a decorated Christmas tree. I love Christmas trees!
I included the Hannukkah image because of the meaning of the dreidel and the "gelt." A dreidel is a 4-sided spinning top. Each of the 4 sides has a Hebrew letter on it, and the 4 letters represent the words "nes gadol haya sham" -- "A great miracle happened there." The miracle involved an oil lamp with enough oil to burn for one day that actually burned for 8 days and allowed the Jewish people to cleanse and rededicate the temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV.
"Gelt" is a Yiddish word that means money. It's been a tradition since the 17th century to give children small sums of money (coins) during Hannukkah. Apparently this started in Poland and was approved by the rabbis because it publicized the story of the oil.
So one reason I included the Hannukkah image is that these are uncertain times, so the reminder that miracles happen every day somewhere seems important to remember. And as all of our work is with nonprofits -- well, who could not use more money to advance their mission and achieve their goals? Perhaps my gelt can bring you some of your own in 2010!
The other reason is purely personal. CJW is my company -- I created it and it literally has my name attached to it. The more time goes by, the harder it becomes for me to separate who I am from what CJW is. I'm a Jewish woman. Judiasm is part of who I am and by extension, it's part of CJW as well.
Someone once told me that to them, a Jewish person is someone who tries to do good; tries to be the best person they can be; treats people as they would be treated; and respects others as they would be respected by others. While I know well that these attributes are not limited to the Jewish people, I do strive to live by them.
I've lived with these precepts all my life. I manage CJW based on the principles I learned growing up in a Jewish family.
This is the foundation for CJW. I have enormous respect and admiration for the nonprofit community. For over 16 years now, I've striven to show this by providing affordable, high-quality services. For as long as CJW exists, this will not change, nor will my commitment to nonprofits and their work.
For everyone reading this, let me wish you happy holidays, whether you will be celebrating St. Nicholas Day, the Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Lucia Day, Hannukkah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa or Omisoka; or you have recently observed Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr or Eid'ul-Adha.
And my very best wishes for a happy, healthy 2010!
I do this every year, in one form or another. I have always been carefully non-sectarian, not wishing to offend anyone. However, as I was searching for images to include in the email, I found one showing a dreidel and some "gelt". These are representations of the Jewish Hannukkah holiday, which begins at sundown on December 11th this year, and ends on December 19th.
Initially I bypassed the image and went on looking for something with snowflakes or trees or a globe or just the words "Happy Holidays". But I ended up returning to the Hannukkah image and including it in the email, along with one that says Happy Holidays but also shows a decorated Christmas tree. I love Christmas trees!
I included the Hannukkah image because of the meaning of the dreidel and the "gelt." A dreidel is a 4-sided spinning top. Each of the 4 sides has a Hebrew letter on it, and the 4 letters represent the words "nes gadol haya sham" -- "A great miracle happened there." The miracle involved an oil lamp with enough oil to burn for one day that actually burned for 8 days and allowed the Jewish people to cleanse and rededicate the temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV.
"Gelt" is a Yiddish word that means money. It's been a tradition since the 17th century to give children small sums of money (coins) during Hannukkah. Apparently this started in Poland and was approved by the rabbis because it publicized the story of the oil.
So one reason I included the Hannukkah image is that these are uncertain times, so the reminder that miracles happen every day somewhere seems important to remember. And as all of our work is with nonprofits -- well, who could not use more money to advance their mission and achieve their goals? Perhaps my gelt can bring you some of your own in 2010!
The other reason is purely personal. CJW is my company -- I created it and it literally has my name attached to it. The more time goes by, the harder it becomes for me to separate who I am from what CJW is. I'm a Jewish woman. Judiasm is part of who I am and by extension, it's part of CJW as well.
Someone once told me that to them, a Jewish person is someone who tries to do good; tries to be the best person they can be; treats people as they would be treated; and respects others as they would be respected by others. While I know well that these attributes are not limited to the Jewish people, I do strive to live by them.
I've lived with these precepts all my life. I manage CJW based on the principles I learned growing up in a Jewish family.
This is the foundation for CJW. I have enormous respect and admiration for the nonprofit community. For over 16 years now, I've striven to show this by providing affordable, high-quality services. For as long as CJW exists, this will not change, nor will my commitment to nonprofits and their work.
For everyone reading this, let me wish you happy holidays, whether you will be celebrating St. Nicholas Day, the Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Lucia Day, Hannukkah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa or Omisoka; or you have recently observed Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr or Eid'ul-Adha.
And my very best wishes for a happy, healthy 2010!
posted by Cheryl J. Weissman at
3:04 PM
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