Charlotte Jewish News - January 2016 - Page 25
Bringing It All Back Home: Tu biShevat in Israel
By Deborah Fineblum/JNS.org
Israelis know that each and
every tree is precious. When the
pioneers of the Jewish state first
cast their eyes on the Promised
Land, it was barren. There were
no natural forests to be had. And
now, just consider: Israel is the
only country in the world that
ended the 20th century with more
trees than it started with. In just
six decades, Israelis have literally
sunk down roots.
Of course, Israel did not ac
complish this alone. Diaspora
Jews have grown up dropping
coins into little blue-and-white
pushkes (tin cans), coins ear
marked for planting trees in Israel.
Many lucky enough to travel to Is
rael in their youth recall sticking
slippery little saplings into the
ground, knowing that each one
made the fledgling Jewish state
that much stronger.
Each sapling and coin has done
its part to “green” the Jewish state.
Since 1901, the Jewish National
Fund (JNF) has planted more than
240 million trees indigenous to
the Middle East, such as native
oaks, carob, redbud, almond, pear,
hawthorn, cypress, and the exotic
Atlantic cedar. JNF has also de
veloped more than 250,000 acres
of land and 1,000 parks.
Tu biShevat—the Jewish New
Year for trees, celebrated January
25 this year—grew out of the
tithes (the amount Jewish law re
quires to be donated) that Jews
take from the produce grown in
Israel. The date when new fruits
are officially assigned to the New
Year is the 15th of the Hebrew
calendar month Shevat, hence the
holiday’s timing.
Today, Jews around the world
mark Tu biShevat by eating fruit,
particularly the kinds mentioned
in the Torah as Israel’s natural
gifts: grapes, figs, pomegranates,
olives, and dates.
But in Israel, where trees are
nothing less than a relatively re
cent miracle, Tu biShevat isn’t
just a passing nod to our leafy-
boughed friends. It’s a real live
holiday marked by countless tree
planting ceremonies, ecological
consciousness-raising programs in
schools and communities, and
Seders for young and old alike—
minus the matzah. It is in many
ways a holiday ahead of its time,
says one Israeli rabbi.
“Tu biShevat is really the cele
bration of spring time, yet it is in
the middle of the winter, because
it’s really the festival of faith, and
particularly faith in the land of Is
rael,” Rabbi Binny Freedman,
Rosh Yeshiva of Orayta Yeshiva
in Jerusalem’s Old City, tells
JNS.org.
After all, it was in Israel that
17th-century Kabbalistic master
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Tzfat and
his disciples instituted the Tu bi
Shevat Seder, modeled after the
Passover Seder. Here, each of the
fruits and trees of the Land of Is
rael were given symbolic mean
ing, including fruits with hard
shells, inedible pits, and those that
are completely edible.
In addition, four cups of wine
(or grape juice) are drunk in a spe
cific order and in varying shades
of red, pink, and white, represent
ing the cycle of life and seasons.
For many years, the Tu biShe
vat seder was an important event
for the children in the elementary
school in Kfar Saba, where Israel
Lenchner was principal. They
were among Israel’s poorest kids,
the majority of them from
Ethiopian families. “Five hundred
years ago, the rabbis of [Safed]
would eat 34 fruits and vegetables
that night, telling their stories and
speaking of their love for Eretz
Yisrael (the land of Israel),”
Lenchner, who is now retired, tells
JNS.org. “That’s why, for all the
years I was the principal, we al
ways had the Seder of Tu biShe
vat.”
But Lenchner didn’t do it for
the children alone. “As important
for them to know the stories, the
wisdom and the traditions that
have been handed down to us
about the land, it’s just as impor
tant for us that they know it, that
they truly love this land and this
people,” he says. “That’s why
every year we made sure they
heard it, so they could grow up ap
preciating what they—and we—
have been given here.”
The tree planting was an Israeli
tradition even before JNF got in
on the act. On Tu biShevat in
1890, Rabbi Ze’ev Yavetz led his
students on a first planting outing
to Zichron Yaakov. The tradition
was embraced in 1903 by the JNF
and taken up in 1908 by the Jew
ish Teachers Union. A few years
later, JNF devoted the holiday to
planting eucalyptus trees in an ef
fort to drain the swamps and halt
the malaria that had attacked the
communities in the Hula Valley.
In honor of the tradition of this
holiday of new beginnings, the
laying of the cornerstone at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
took place on Tu biShevat in
1918, as did those of the Technion
- Israel Institute of Technology in
1925 and the Knesset in 1949.
These days, more than a mil
lion people each year attend JNF’s
Tu biShevat planting ceremonies
in Israel’s largest forests. But trees
have proven not to be immune to
violence. In 2006, after the de
struction of 10,000 acres of forest
by Katyusha rockets, JNF
launched Operation Northern Re
newal to begin replacing much of
the topsoil that had been burned
away and replant the forest.
“Through 2,000 years of exile
we never stopped believing that
one day, we would come home,”
says Rabbi Freedman. “Which is
why this Jewish festival is being
rediscovered in Israel, because
anywhere else in the world it is by
necessity missing something. A
celebration of coming home
makes the most sense... when you
are home.” ^
Two-year-old Hagai, and his parents Ofra and Eyal, choose plants in a
nursery in Eshtaol, Israel, in celebration ofTu biShevat on Jan. 19, 2011.
Credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90.
CJDS Parent Profile
. few*[ fUi
Elissa Levine
Years at CJDS: 7
Husband: Josh
Children: Talia • 6* grade, Providence Day, Sasha, 4* grade
Temple Affiliation: Temple Israel
Why We Chose CJDS
My husband and I first looked at CJDS when
our oldest daughter applied to kindergarten.
I was familiar with the advantages of a day
school education; whereas my husband was
more circumspect about how this would benefit
our child. What we discovered about CJDS was
astounding. There were no leather couches or
glossy brochures. Just Mariashi's unapologetic
strength that she will draw forth the best from
each child she was entrusted with and bring them
to their full potential.
We met the teachers. Without exception, every
teacher takes so much joy in teaching. From
kindergarden through 5th grade, each teacher was
genuinely enthusiastic to come to school every
morning and see'their kids.'CJDS's core curriculum
is second to none, either the same or surpassing
other private schools'curricula.
But without doubt, meeting the 5th grade student
ambassadors was the highlight of our introduction
to the school.The students were poised and
comfortable in their own skin. The fifth graders
remarked about how the teachers met each
student at their individual level for each subject.
CJDS teachers and administrators are truly
invested in the personal and academic growth of
each student.
What We Continue to Love About CJDS
What's not to love? Everything that we liked
about the school has been demonstrated in a
thousand ways over the years that our children
have attended CJDS. The academics continue to
be exceptional. The Judaic studies become a moral
compass and a code of ethics that our girls
internalize and use as a guide in their daily lives.
Most of all, the teachers instilled our girls with
a love of learning that continues to blossom.
Choosing CJDS has been a fabulous decision for
our children and our family, and I suspect we have
not begun to realize the rewards.
*
CJDS
Charlotte Jewish
Day School
For more information about CJDS or to arrange a personal tour, contact: Mariashi Groner, Director • 704-366-4558 • mgroner@cJdschool.org
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