Revisiting Jonah, The Descent, 1:1-5, The Dice, 1:6-9

There are already a few posts on this blog on Jonah that I did last year, as a kind of undergraduate final exam that was set for me and which I marked myself from Christensen's work here. I thought I would update the tables in those old posts - even perhaps produce a post on each section, so I spent the morning jiggering my algorithms to accept Jonah from the data rather than Psalms - a bit tricky in an ad hoc system. I might get the whole act together at some point - but here below for starters is Jonah 1:1-9 with the question - does it divide into 2 sections?

You may remember that in the pdf, I divided Jonah into 7 sections. These are named for the keyword in the section. It turns out that I can be even more precise now that I have learned more about how to use these tables.

• Chapter 1 The Descent (1-9), The Sea The Mortals (10-16), 
• Chapter 2 The Fish, 
• Chapter 3 The Call ???? (1-5), The Turn (6-10), 
• Chapter 4 The City ???? (1-5), The Tender Plant (6-11).  

But I think that chapter 1 may further divide. And I have noted already that even single verses sometimes give a beautiful diagram. Let's see what comes of ...

The Descent.

Jonah, like the dew of Hermon, and the precious oil of Psalm 133, descends in his escape from יהוה (shades of Psalm 139 too.) Jonah's descent is not complete till chapter 2, when he descends to the roots of the hills, but all the other occurrences of descending are in chapter 1:1-5.

וַיְהִי דְּבַר יְהוָה אֶל יוֹנָה בֶן אֲמִתַּי לֵאמֹר	1.1	and the word of יְהוָה happened to Jonah1 child of Amittai saying
קוּם לֵךְ אֶל נִינְוֵה הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה וּקְרָא עָלֶיהָ כִּי עָלְתָה רָעָתָם לְפָנָי	1.2	Rise - walk to Nineveh2 the great city and call out against her for their evil has ascended in my face
וַיָּקָם יוֹנָה לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה וַיֵּרֶד יָפוֹ וַיִּמְצָא אֳנִיָּה בָּאָה תַרְשִׁישׁ וַיִּתֵּן שְׂכָרָהּ וַיֵּרֶד בָּהּ לָבוֹא עִמָּהֶם תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה	1.3	but Jonah rose and ran away to Tarshish away from the face of יְהוָה and he descended to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish and he paid the fare and descended into her to go with them to Tarshish away from the face of יְהוָה
וַיהוָה הֵטִיל רוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה אֶל הַיָּם וַיְהִי סַעַר גָּדוֹל בַּיָּם וְהָאֳנִיָּה חִשְּׁבָה לְהִשָּׁבֵר	1.4	but יְהוָה hurled a great wind onto the sea and a great tempest happened on the sea and the ship, she was reckoning she was a wreck
וַיִּירְאוּ הַמַּלָּחִים וַיִּזְעֲקוּ אִישׁ אֶל אֱלֹהָיו וַיָּטִלוּ אֶת הַכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר בָּאֳנִיָּה אֶל הַיָּם לְהָקֵל מֵעֲלֵיהֶם וְיוֹנָה יָרַד אֶל יַרְכְּתֵי הַסְּפִינָה וַיִּשְׁכַּב וַיֵּרָדַם	1.5	And the salt-sea-farers feared and they cried each to his God and they hurled their cargo that was in the ship onto the sea lightening themselves of trifles but Jonah had descended into the recesses below decks and he was laid out unconscious3
וַיִּקְרַב אֵלָיו רַב הַחֹבֵל וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַה לְּךָ נִרְדָּם קוּם קְרָא אֶל אֱלֹהֶיךָ אוּלַי יִתְעַשֵּׁת הָאֱלֹהִים לָנוּ וְלֹא נֹאבֵד	1.6	so the pilot approached him and said to him what's with you - unconscious! Rise! Call out to your God maybe this God will do something for us and we will not perish
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ לְכוּ וְנַפִּילָה גוֹרָלוֹת וְנֵדְעָה בְּשֶׁלְּמִי הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ וַיַּפִּלוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת וַיִּפֹּל הַגּוֹרָל עַל יוֹנָה	1.7	and they said, each to his companion look here, let's let the dice fall to know from whom this evil is ours and they let the dice fall and the dice fell to Jonah
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הַגִּידָה נָּא לָנוּ בַּאֲשֶׁר לְמִי הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת לָנוּ מַה מְּלַאכְתְּךָ וּמֵאַיִן תָּבוֹא מָה אַרְצֶךָ וְאֵי מִזֶּה עַם אָתָּה	1.8	and they said to him, make it clear to us, please why is it that this evil is ours? what line of work are you in? and where have you come from? what part of earth? and from this people - who are you?
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם עִבְרִי אָנֹכִי וְאֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲנִי יָרֵא אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אֶת הַיָּם וְאֶת הַיַּבָּשָׁה	1.9	and he said to them Hebrew I am and I, I fear יְהוָה the God of the heavens who made the sea and the dry land

1Jonah = Dove

2Nineveh = נִינְוֵה (N is a symbol for fish) + the letters of Jonah יוֹנָה with one reversal.

3shares two letters with descend and three in some forms of the conjugation (stem is רדם).

Here are the tables of recurring roots. Do they support a division of this section into 2 parts? (You can tell immediately from the colour coding, itself calculated from the summed numeric values of the root letters.)

Jonah 1:1-5 The Descent

Selected recurring words in relative order (1 to 5)

Word and gloss * first usage

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

2

Vs

Root

ויהי and happened

░

1

היה

יהוה יהוה

░

1

יהוה

יונה Jonah

░

1

יונה

קום rise

░

2

קום

הגדולה that great

░

2

גדל

לפני in my face

░

2

פנה

ויקם but rose

░

3

קום

יונה Jonah

░

3

יונה

תרשׁישׁה to Tarshish

░

3

תרשׁשׁ

מלפני away from the face of

░

3

פנה

יהוה יהוה

░

3

יהוה

וירד and he descended

░

3

ירד

אניה a ship

░

3

אניה

באה going to

░

3

בוא

תרשׁישׁ Tarshish

░

3

תרשׁשׁ

וירד and descended

░

3

ירד

לבוא to go

░

3

בוא

תרשׁישׁה to Tarshish

░

3

תרשׁשׁ

מלפני away from the face of

░

3

פנה

יהוה יהוה

░

3

יהוה

ויהוה but יהוה

░

4

יהוה

הטיל hurled

░

4

טול

גדולה great

░

4

גדל

ויהי and happened

░

4

היה

גדול great

░

4

גדל

בים on the sea

░

4

ים

והאניה and the ship

░

4

אניה

ויטלו and they hurled

░

5

טול

באניה was in the ship

░

5

אניה

הים the sea

░

5

ים

ויונה but Jonah

░

5

יונה

ירד had descended

░

5

ירד

These first few verses introduce the characters, Jonah,יהוה, the ship. (yes she's a character in the story), and the salt-sea-farers (a word used only once in the story, carefully separating these 'characters' from the mortals of verses 10-16). They are the same group of people but their designation has changed. They are known as mortal rather than by their line of work. Is it because they have become aware of יהוה? The section is named from the recurrence of 'descend' but this word does not occur in the remaining 4 verses. The story-teller's memory will have a different hook for the following verses.
Jonah 1:6-9 The Dice

Selected recurring words in relative order (6 to 9)

Word and gloss * first usage	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Vs	Root
ויאמר and said	░									6	אמר
מה what's		░								6	מה
אלהיך your God			░							6	אלוה
לנו for us				░						6	לנו
ויאמרו and they said	░									7	אמר
ונפילה let's throw					░					7	נפל
גורלות the dice						░				7	גורל
הרעה evil							░			7	רע
הזאת this								░		7	זאת
לנו is ours				░						7	לנו
ויפלו and they threw					░					7	נפל
גורלות the dice						░				7	גורל
ויפל and pointed					░					7	נפל
הגורל the dice						░				7	גורל
ויאמרו and they said	░									8	אמר
לנו to us				░						8	לנו
באשׁר that									░	8	אשׁר
הרעה evil							░			8	רע
הזאת this								░		8	זאת
לנו is ours				░						8	לנו
מה what		░								8	מה
מה what		░								8	מה
ויאמר and he said	░									9	אמר
אלהי the God of			░							9	אלוה
אשׁר who									░	9	אשׁר

Verses 6 to 9 are a conversation between the seafarers and the prophet. It is a conversation about evil using dice as a decision making tool. The seafarers are introduced to יהוה, recalling Psalm 107 and after the manner of the psalms of Book 5 that name יהוה as the maker of heaven and earth, in this case, specifically the sea, the source of their distress and dry land, the desirable refuge from the tempest. Jonah can scarcely be justified by this unintended side effect of his disobedience, but it does give others of us a little encouragement that in spite of the awful behaviour of the religious, some benefit might yet accrue, as it were, by chance.

O my black soul

I am not blacked out but whited out. I should not have made fun of winter.

There is a discussion of the translation of soul at various blogs, started by Joel Hoffman here and continued on the BBB here where Kurk Gale of BLT and other blogs drew my attention to comments by Robert Alter in his translation of the psalms.  Along with the translation problem of the multiplicity of possible referents for a word, there is a metaphor in the discussion related to hardware-software.

---

Re Alter: his statement, "as I observed above" (page xxxii) I presume refers to his comment on page xxvii where he says 'nefesh means "life breath" and by extension "life" or "essential being"'.

I have to ask: whose extension?  It is the extension by time and the dispersion by tongue in the usage, but particularly through translation into foreign tongues - psyche in Greek and anima in Latin.  I can barely spell Greek and Latin, so I have to talk about them as languages that I have scanned, not languages that I read fluently.  They have a positive estimation in my mind in spite of my limited apprehension of them. Greek is famed for its precision and Latin for its theological discourse. We have extended the meaning of soul in English and by implication nefesh in Hebrew. But I don't find the conclusion that nephesh may be immaterial believable. I don't see an immaterial usage anywhere in the words I have read from Scripture. In fact, Alter's objection to anima as its translation in the Vulgate seems to me to work against his argument.

One thing I have learned from software and hardware over the years is that symbols have meaning only from their usage. Polyvalent symbols will be used in areas of independent scope. Polyvalent symbols within the same scope are very bad practice in programming. They create confusion and frequently make code unmaintainable.  Hardware-software as a metaphor cannot get much further in understanding life than the mechanical metaphor of the 19th century, but it does tell us something about tokens and human idiosyncrasy in their invention.

If nephesh is polyvalent then what hope have we of deciding what it 'means' based on its usage? We have to separate those places where it means throat, neck from those where it means breath, life, or just me, you, us, them etc. If we decide sometimes, depending on our whim, to render nephesh as 'life', this will confuse us when life is rendered for xayah (after the style of Miss Piggy). This sort of translation practice really messes up the poetry.  I have worked through every instance of every word in the psalms and eventually I refused to let two completely different Hebrew words be rendered as the same word in English in this case or any other (with a few insurmountable exceptions).  My refusal was not subjective. If it is true that the Hebrew poets used word-recurrence as a significant structuring ploy in their poems, then it is important to follow a rule that prevents confusion.

There are significant difficulties here especially with English helping verbs and certainly with nephesh.  Nonetheless, when nfshi, means me rather than my being, the translation is a compromise. Psalm 69 is a good example. Nephesh occurs 3 times, verses 2, 10, 19 (Hebrew numbering). Though in English the metaphor of water seems broken in verse 2, the unity of verses 1-19 is compromised when a different word is used. But maybe this particular repetition is not significant. That is a subjective decision. In this case, it is possible that the water metaphor of verse 2 is separate from the use of reproach as an organizing principle for the poem. In this psalm, Alter uses three different approaches:

• verse 1 is neck (this creates a different problem for him when the neck as body part turns up, but he can't use throat here since he uses it in verse 4 - not nephesh!)
• verse 10 is being.
• verse 19 is me.

In this usage he misses the sound of one of the frames of the section of the poem from verses 8-22. And he confuses these frames as well. There is an eight-fold concentric circle here - see for yourself in the text and the table at the link. It's deep indeed.

My contention, following the software metaphor, is that we need to see the pattern of usage and not cross-match words if possible. Then we will see different usage patterns and will be able to 'distinguish those things that are different'.

Winter in Victoria

A short walk at Government House

A Taste of Torah

This comes to an old mailbox of mine from JTS. I don't know its URL so I copy this week's commentary by R. Matthew Berkowitz - always full of insight. On the heels of a lecture at UVIC yesterday by Bill Morrow on the destruction of the Canaanites, I had several questions on how people live within an ancient mythos. The lessons about colonialization and slavery are eqally obvious.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 The opening of the book of Exodus details the enslavement of the Israelites by a pharaoh who “did not know of Joseph” (Exod. 1:8). Having become a prolific minority living among an Egyptian majority, Israelites—and their fertility—raised fears in pharaoh and his countrymen. Yet, counter to our perception of sudden slavery and brutality, the opening of Parashat Shemot gives us a much more nuanced sense of a people gradually transformed from freemen to servants. Pharaoh first accuses the Israelites of becoming too numerous, then sets fiscal oppressors (sarei misim) over them, and only after that does he choreograph a policy of murdering male Israelite infants. Each pharaonic gesture represents the increased embitterment of Israelite lives. How may we better understand this subtle descent to enslavement?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains:

The first taxes (misim) they had to pay as citizens are mentioned in Exodus 1:14. The Israelites still retained their rights, but had to pay for their right to protection by special levy of a labor-tax . . . After that, they were degraded to slaves: creatures without any right of appeal or redress for any wrongs committed against them. It no longer says that “Pharaoh oppressed them” but states that the “Egyptians oppressed them.” In other words, the people received the right to treat them as slaves. Then the third degree was added, that the Egyptians “embittered” their lives . . . The root and beginning of this indescribable maltreatment was strangeness (gerut), the supposed lack of rights as a foreigner. That is why the laws of Torah concerning the rights of foreigners offer the profoundest contrast to all other national laws up to this very day . . . The degree of justice in a land is measured not so much by the rights accorded to the native-born inhabitants, to the rich, or people who have representatives looking after their interests, but by what justice is meted out to the completely unprotected “stranger.” (Hirsch, Commentary on the Torah: Exodus, 9)

Rabbi Hirsch (who lived in 19th-century Germany) is profoundly thoughtful and sensitive in tracing the intensifying oppression of the Israelites. First, Pharaoh singles them out. Once they have become separate and apart from the majority, the Israelites are oppressed through economic means. Fiscal burden then leads to a collective unleashing of degradation. And finally, the atmosphere of the country is poisoned as the Egyptians successfully participate in the process of embittering the lives of the strangers in their midst. What began as the accusation of one misguided pharaoh (Exod. 1:9) transforms into the hateful, oppressive behavior of the many (Exod. 1:13). Even more importantly, Hirsch delivers a powerful message of Torah and of the Jewish people throughout the ages. It is this experience of “otherness” that has led to our heightened sensitivity toward the “stranger” in our own midst. As Jews in the Diaspora and in Israel, we must never forget the historical lesson of Egypt rooted in this week’s parashah. May we all internalize Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s teaching: “The degree of justice in a land is measured . . . by what justice is meted out to the completely unprotected ‘stranger.’”

Reading the OT with Music

I am having fun composing, but I not posting any more aural performances at present. Sheet Music is in the form shown in the URL. I am up to Psalm 18 - sooo long a psalm. I re-used many leit-motif's in this setting.

While it is, by my thesis, only 1/2 way through act 1 scene 3, this psalm alludes to many of the prior psalms and anticipates many to follow. I have used thematic material to suggest these prior allusions such as the dialogue themes from Psalm 2, a confidence theme from Psalm 6 and 9. some musical allusions to St Nicholas (Britten), a reuse of the augmented 5th anger theme from Psalms 1 and 2, a new theophany theme - reused at the end as well as at the obvious part, a new innocence theme, lots of varied rhythms.

I have forgotten what little I knew about audacity so I can't even give you an MP3 at the moment. I am going to work on Psalm 19 - three things this time: a choral setting of part of it, and an Organ prelude and postlude based on some of it. Let's see what happens.  In the meanwhile, if you read music, try Psalm 18 or any of the earlier ones.  Our choir will, if my work is acceptable, sing Psalm 19 or the motet based on it mid-Lent.

Here's a brief summary so far

Psalm	Key Signatures	Time Signatures	Leitmotifs	Instruments	Bars
1	F+, Eb-	4/4	Happy triad, Warning/wrath – descending augmented 5th	Voice, Guitar	27
2	F-	4/4 12/8	Dialogue: descending major 7th also wrath, happy from 1 destruction - discontinuous	Voice, Guitar	41
3	D+	4/4	top three notes of major triad only, a tentative beginning	Voice	21
4	D+	4/4	criticism motif, descending semi-tones in subdominant confidence theme, rising major scale to the sixth uses wrath motif as taunting	Voice, Violin	38
5	B-	4/4/ 12/8	Preparation motif, ascending 4th jaunty, rhythmic	Voice, Flute	49
6	D-	4/4	Octaves, repentance motif confidence (minor key) destruction prayer (minor 3rd)	Voice, Violin	45
7	Bb+	6/8 3/4 4/4 12/8+	Dance and destruction in semitones, judgment	Voice	81
8	Ab+ Db+	4/4 6/8	Folk melody	Voice	34
9	D- G+, Dorian, F ending incomplete – seque 10	12/8 4/4	Confidence destruction	Voice	92
10	B-	4/4 12/8	Octaves (6) very jaunty at the end lots of destruction	Voice	81
11	D+	4/4 rhythm modelled on Hebrew first	hell motif mocked 16th note bird flight	Voice	32
12	Bb-	4/4 12/8	Octaves, allegro - andante battle in Bb	Voice	27
13	F#-	4/4	Persistent folk-tune	Voice	32
14	Eb+	5/4, 9/8	Allegro, ballad	Voice	32
15	F+ Db+	4/4	Recap Psalm 1 themes	Voice, Guitar	21
16	F#+	5/4 3/4	Pentatonic	Voice	70
17	Bb+	4/4	Free meditation on Compline apple of the eye theme	Voice	64
18	B+, B-	4/4 6/8	theophany themes dialogue theme from Psalm 2 reused confidence theme 2 - another quote from Nicholas (Britten) reuse anger theme - strong relationships to Psalm 2 reuse confidence motif 1 new - innocence theme - build on over confidence of psalm 5	Voice	264

Reading the NT with annotations - questions

What notes occur to me as I read the Jewish Annotated New Testament?

I even read the list of abbreviations - well skimmed it at least. The first thing I noted in the text intro to Matthew (page 1) is that there is no mention of the Markan priority without Q, The Case Against Q that Mark Goodacre proposes (2002).

Next I noted this sentence: page 3. Messiah is never used in Tanakh of the future ideal Davidic king. I immediately wondered about the usage in the psalms, especially the use in Psalm 89 and comparing this psalm with Psalm 72. [I see reading David Mitchell's interactions with Wilson "Lord, Remember David: G. H. Wilson and the Message of the Psalter" that I am in good company - I really should read those authors. - even if they are just arguing with each other!]

Psalm 72 does not have the term anointed, but it does, at the end of Book 2 of the Psalter, describe the ideal king. This is in contrast to Psalm 89 at the end of Book 3 which describes the lament of the 'earthly' kingdom. (Failure is too strong a word.)  Book 4 presents יְהוָה as king. What then is anointing and how does such a gift manifest itself in the individual, in the people, and in the relationship with יְהוָה?

The root for anoint is used in the following verses.

Verses sharing this stem

יִתְיַצְּבוּ מַלְכֵי אֶרֶץ וְרוֹזְנִים נוֹסְדוּ יָחַד עַל יְהוָה וְעַל מְשִׁיחוֹ	--2.2	They station themselves, these kinglets of earth these rule-makers reasoning as one against יְהוָה and against his anointed	rule-makers, רזן (rzn) once in the psalms, weighty, judicious, commanding the kings are against the anointed from the beginning
מַגְדִּל יְשׁוּעוֹת מַלְכּוֹ וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לִמְשִׁיחוֹ לְדָוִד וּלְזַרְעוֹ עַד עוֹלָם	-18.51	Great victories he does for his king and he makes loving kindness for his anointed for David and his seed for ever	victories, ישׁע (yshu) = salvation Psalms 17-18 are prayer and statement of completion
עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּי הוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה מְשִׁיחוֹ יַעֲנֵהוּ מִשְּׁמֵי קָדְשׁוֹ בִּגְבֻרוֹת יֵשַׁע יְמִינוֹ	-20.7	Now I know because יְהוָה will save his anointed he will answer from his holy heaven in the prevailing of the salvation of his right hand	part of the prayer for the king - following a space in the poem where the prayer is answered.
יְהוָה עֹז לָמוֹ וּמָעוֹז יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ הוּא	-28.8	יְהוָה their strength and the stronghold of the victories of his anointed is he	Psalms 27-28 are again a pair focused on the individual
אָהַבְתָּ צֶּדֶק וַתִּשְׂנָא רֶשַׁע עַל כֵּן מְשָׁחֲךָ אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן מֵחֲבֵרֶךָ	-45.8	You have loved righteousness and hate wickedness therefore God your God has anointed you with oil of joy above your companions	the marriage of the king
מָגִנֵּנוּ רְאֵה אֱלֹהִים וְהַבֵּט פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ	-84.10	See our shield O God and take note of the face of your anointed	in the middle of Book 3, prayer for the whole people
מָצָאתִי דָּוִד עַבְדִּי בְּשֶׁמֶן קָדְשִׁי מְשַׁחְתִּיו	-89.21	I have found David my servant with the oil of my holiness I have anointed him	the promise is noted
וְאַתָּה זָנַחְתָּ וַתִּמְאָס הִתְעַבַּרְתָּ עִם מְשִׁיחֶךָ	-89.39	But you yourself have rejected and refused You have passed over with your anointed	the lament follows at the failure of the Davidic line
אֲשֶׁר חֵרְפוּ אוֹיְבֶיךָ יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר חֵרְפוּ עִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחֶךָ	-89.52	that your enemies יְהוָה have reproached that they have reproached the footsteps of your anointed	the enemies are triumphant
אַל תִּגְּעוּ בִמְשִׁיחָי וְלִנְבִיאַי אַל תָּרֵעוּ	105.15	do not touch my anointed and to my prophets do no evil	the anointed is the whole people
בַּעֲבוּר דָּוִד עַבְדֶּךָ אַל תָּשֵׁב פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ	132.10	on behalf of David your servant do not turn away the presence of your anointed	anointed is a frame with a promise in Psalm 132
שָׁם אַצְמִיחַ קֶרֶן לְדָוִד עָרַכְתִּי נֵר לִמְשִׁיחִי	132.17	There I will cause the horn Of David to grow I have arranged a lamp for my anointed	The psalms do more than give room for hope. They provide the framework in which the anointed may grow and learn mercy

The Plan

The title of this post is a quote from Kermit the Frog.  What is my Plan this year.  Last year's plan was achieved. The proof of the pudding is at PoC with its 120 posts, 10 per month. This will continue with a more frequent pace (1 per day) for the Songs of Ascent. I hope I can keep up - for I continue to notice new things.

Today I received my copy of the Jewish Annotated NT - finally I will reread the NT - I wonder what this will do to me.  I will spread this out over the year I think.

I will also continue composing - layer by layer, sketch by sketch, testing the rhythm of my translation. Sections of the music will be aural references to other sections. I will now move away from strict sequential composition and sketch several scattered sections at once so that when I come to them I remember what I already have written - (Bayard makes it clear how memory often fails a writer - true of music also.)

And like all good humans, I will likely continue decomposing too.  But I hope to stop a few pesky aspects of my constitution. So far so good.

Happy New Year again!