A Unique Tu BiShvat for Israel's Trees
Jewish communities around the world marked the "new year for the trees" last week with tree planting ceremonies and seders that celebrate Israel's seven species (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates if you are keeping track!).
At Tu BiShvat, Digging for Spiritual Growth
While my neighbors were putting their Christmas trees to the curb, in what seems like a ritual of replacement, I was preparing to plant for Tu BiShvat.
Those Who Plant Will Reap: A Tu BiShvat Lesson
Tu BiShvat is a reminder that we spend our lives planting seeds. Time and effort are needed for our efforts to bear fruit. Wait patiently. One day, like the seed, we will be blessed.
Planting a Seed
By Joshua Weinberg
“And when you come into the Land, and have planted all manner of food bearing trees… (Lev. 19:23) The Holy one Blessed be he said to the people Israel: Even though you have found [the land] full of plenty, you shall not say: We shall sit and not plant, rather proceed with caution in your planting… For as you have entered and found the fruits of others’ labor, you so shall plant for your children. (Midrash Tanhuma)
If you’re like me, then you may remember that pivotal moment of Jewish education when you received your very own Jewish National Fund (JNF) certificate for a tree planted in Israel. Whether it was for a birth, birthday, bar/bat mitzvah, or in memory of a loved one, a tree was planted in Israel to mark the occasion. The message was clear: with every passing milestone we want to connect Jews to the Land of Israel and to the Zionist enterprise. All of us who were the fortunate recipients of such trees knew in the recesses of our mind that somewhere in that strip of land, in some forest, was our tree, our little piece of Israel. As the certificates read, the JNF wished us the following: “We wish you the fortune of seeing it grow with much pleasure and ease.”
What We Can Learn from Ruth and Naomi about Mental Health
Revelation: It’s Not What It Seems to Be
On Shavuot we celebrate receiving the Torah. But, how are we truly to understand divine revelation?
This is the Moment to Commit to a “Covenant With Our World”
As Reform Jews, we are called, like the generations before us, to build partnerships across lines of difference to advocate for and engage with the oppressed of our day.
Sleepless on Shavuot: Let My People Learn
On the first day of Shavuot, we are supposed to hear the Ten Commandments read in the synagogue, but the main event is the learning binge the night before.
Shavuot in Jerusalem: A Night of Study and a Day to Surf
I know that Shavuot is near when I can hear the fruit vendors in the shuk (open-air market) extolling the virtues of the newly arrived crops of peaches, plums, apricots, and nectarines.
Shavuot: The Day God and the Jewish People Wed
The day the Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, preparing to encounter God, is understood in midrash as the day of marriage between God and the Jewish people.