31 December—In the spirit of the season—and owing to The Litchfield Monitor’s legendary disposition, it falls upon us to end 2023 on a positive note. And there’s nothing more positive than the plus sign. So here it is:

Gotcha! There have been and are, in fact, a number of different plus signs in use all over the world (as we know it). And they’ve been serving a number of purposes we won’t bore you with.

The symbol pictured above happens to be a Jewish plus sign. Really. We kid you not. Just as lots of people who take religion too seriously prefer to write “G-d” rather than “God,” lots of Jews—and not just irrational, die-hard fanatics—don’t like to write a symbol that looks anything like a Christian cross.

The common international plus sign is, coincidentally, identical to the basic, unadorned equilateral Greek cross, known in God’s language as the crux immissa quadrata—but Jews don’t know that any more than Christians.

Jesus Christ! you’re thinking.

The plain old Latin or Roman cross with an extended lower stipes, on the other hand, the universally popular crux immissa, is close enough to the common plus sign for ultra-schmultra-orthodox Jews to eschew writing either symbol. Ultra-schmultra-religious Jewish authors, therefore, as well as many religious and even secular elementary schools in Israel (and, doubtless, yeshivas elsewhere), believe it or not, use what the pope might call a T inversa (inverted T) for a plus sign; but less dogmatic authors and more reasonable Jewish schools stick with the old faithful crux immissa quadrata when they need to add something.

To end 2023 on a more common positive note, then: