As an added precaution, I promised my mom I wouldn't attend Rosh Hashanah services at the synagogue downtown.

WSJ: Fearlessness and Loving in Cairo | Traveler's Tale

Probably the only time in history anyone has promised their mother that they wouldn't attend Rosh Hashanah services.

WSJ: Fearlessness and Loving in Cairo | Traveler's Tale

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, the time when we think about our past year and plan for our next.

FORBES: What's Your One Big Theme?

The night before Rosh Hashanah, I found myself drinking beers on the rooftop terrace of a place called the Greek Club.

WSJ: Fearlessness and Loving in Cairo | Traveler's Tale

But Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are also opportunities for reflection.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama's Rosh Hashanah Greeting

Do they openly use their smart phones in inappropriate places, such as first dates, at Rosh Hashanah or Christmas dinner, in hospital delivery rooms, or on job interviews?

WSJ: Addicts of the Information Age

In the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah is followed by Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, when observant Jews ask forgiveness for the sins of the past year and recommit to improving the next.

FORBES: What's Your One Big Theme?

The following afternoon, as I celebrated Rosh Hashanah by myself in Old Cairo, I kept coming back to that story, to the bravery of those six or seven people who protected the holy place of another faith while their own country was in the throes of revolution.

WSJ: Fearlessness and Loving in Cairo | Traveler's Tale