This year has felt like some sort of universal karmic retribution for something. We clearly enjoyed too much of a good thing, and this year it all comes back to bite us. It feels like a steep price to pay for both the city of Cleveland (thanks to the Cavaliers) and the Chicago Cubs breaking historical, crushing title droughts, no? (That said, as Cubs fan, how much would I have hated this year without a Game 7 comeback?)
The soundtrack of my Bar Mitzvah circuit died this year (Prince, David Bowie, George Michael), the first – and toughest – female lead in a movie I could remember (Carrie Fisher), and legends that helped form the State of Israel and forge a strong Jewish identity post-Holocaust (Shimon Peres and Elie Weisel). And I feel like that’s not even scratching the surface for many people.
This year has been so rough, it has spawned the fantastic “Me at the start of 2016 vs. me at the end” meme.
So while the glass may be half-empty, one thing that has kept it half-full (and who doesn’t need a half-full glass of something about now?), is you.
Yes, you.
Thanks to you, TC Jewfolk had a terrific year, of well north of a HALF-MILLION pageviews – 26 percent more than the year before. Here are the top-5, most-read articles on TC Jewfolk this year:
Five Reasons Why Observing Shabbat May Improve Your Life
Who The Folk?! Michael Stern and Brett Striker
Post-Camp Disappointment Disorder
How a Trip to Israel “for Jewish Moms” Changed My Outlook
These were just of a few of the more than 300 posts we’ve made this year. We’re very proud of the work we’ve done, and many people in the community have contributed to that success, both financially with their donations and with their talent by writing articles, columns, opinion pieces and more. We don’t get to do the work we do at TC Jewfolk without you. (Commercial time: If you are interested in writing for TC Jewfolk, let’s talk!)
So with that, it’s time to slam the door on 2016 (thankfully), and move on to bigger and better in 2017. Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year!
