Hardly anyone I know who lives in New York City, has been able to maintain their softness, their approachability. But I am often surprised to experience, that under the tough outside their is a sweet, sensitive, feeling, generous core. I just described the fruit of a cactus, the sabra… Now I lived in Israel for 3 years, I have a Kabbalah teacher who is an Israeli, but I am hard-pressed to find the soft sweet core… but in New York it is a daily occurrance.  So, don’t be mislead by appearances, the New Yorkers are a nice bunch, in spite of the first impression.