Physical and spiritual renewal

RUTH HEIGES SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Remember how you used to buy one leaf at a time to help your Hebrew school class plant a tree in Israel? When the printed drawing was completely filled with leaf stickers, it was enough for one tree.

Well today you need only log onto the Internet and go to www.kkl.org.il or www.jnf.org, fill in the form and select the certificate you want. Until it is mailed, you can see the colorful drawing on screen at any time or have it forwarded to the person you might be honoring.

Virtual ordering aside, however, the trees that get planted are very real, continuing the work of land reclamation which the Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemet L'Yisrael has been conducting for more than 100 years. One of the new options that will soon be available for earmarking where one's tree is planted will be Ya'ar ha-Tanach – the Bible Forest. The launching of this project, under the auspices of Israel's President Moshe Katzav, is the centrepiece of this year's JNF/KKL Tu B'Shevat (15th day of Shevat) – New Year of the Trees – festivities in Israel. Tu B'Shevat falls, this year, on Jan. 18.

What is especially wonderful about this project is the fact that the idea for it came from children who participated in an international contest held in 1999 – Children of the World Illustrate the Bible.

"Over 800,000 children participated in this contest," said Bible Forest project director Itzik Ephron. "When they were asked what they would like as a memento of participation, some 10,000 replied that they would like a tree planted in their names 'in the Bible Forest in the land of the Bible.' This served as the trigger for our thinking."

This forest and park will be unlike any other developed by the JNF. Instead of the evergreens that typify most of its projects, the Bible Forest will be planted with the trees and vegetation of the ancient land, from cypress, date and myrtle to olive trees and grapevines.

"We plan to develop sections based on themes of the Bible – like the prophets, Psalms and Song of Songs – and plant them appropriately," explained Ephron. "It is planned for a belt of land southwest of Jerusalem, running in the direction of Beersheva, from Bet Shemesh to Kiryat Gat, along the Ayala Valley. Not only is it currently undeveloped, but one doesn't see even the smallest urban area from within its 7,000-acre expanse."

The final decision for creating the Bible Forest was taken one year ago, on the 100th anniversary of JNF/KKL – an organization that was well into reforestation, land reclamation and the preservation of natural resources long before the western world became conscious of the need to protect the environment. What's more, it is largely by virtue of the JNF/KKL mission of this past century that the dominant Tu B'Shevat tradition has become the planting of
new trees.

"In celebrating 100 years of activity, the Jewish National Fund is marking the success of the Zionist dream," said Yehiel Leket, JNF world chairman. "Our first 50 years were spent purchasing the land that would become the state of Israel; the following 50 years were spent developing the land for the people. Planting trees not only provides Israel with healthy green space but provides employment for waves of new immigrants and an improved quality of life for Israelis across the country."

Tu B'Shevat, however, was not always linked to tree planting; its origins and how we celebrate it today are a good example of how we Jews have learned to put a positive spin on things. As the saying goes, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." What we now refer to as "the New Year of the Trees" or "Jewish Arbor Day" actually started out with the paying of taxes in ancient times.

"The 15th of Shevat, in the past, was like the 15th of April in the United States, or the end of the tax year in other countries," explained Rabbi Meir Azari of Beit Daniel, the Progressive (Reform) congregation in Tel-Aviv. "In the agrarian economy of those times, a key factor in measuring a person's wealth was how many fruit trees he had on his property and how much they bore. By Tu B'Shevat, the rainy season in Israel is reaching its end and the trees are coming out of their winter dormancy. During the Temple period, the trees were counted at this time and their ages considered, in order to determine how much fruit should be tithed. In other words, Tu B'Shevat was tax-assessment day."

By the mishnaic period, with the Temple destroyed, the day started taking on the trappings of a celebration. Beit Shammai observed the first of Shevat, while those who followed Beit Hillel marked it on the 15th day of the month with the recitation of psalms – particularly Psalm 104, which celebrates the rain – during the daily prayers, while eliminating those prayers relating to death. It was also a tradition to eat fruits associated with the land of Israel, such as dates, figs, grapes, olives and carob.

Thus began the evolution to how we celebrate the holiday today, though no changes took place until the 16th century. It was at that time that the mystics of Safed created a Tu B'Shevat seder, which they modeled on the Passover seder. It centred on four different categories of fruit and drinking four cups of wine, including red, white and grape juice, symbolizing the four seasons and the mystical "four worlds." Rabbi Itzhak Lurie called the text he wrote for this ceremony Pri Etz Hadar – Fruit of the Goodly Tree.

Except for within the Italian Jewish community, however, this tradition largely died out until recent years, when it started being revived, particularly by the Progressive Judaism movement in Israel and the Reform and Conservative movements in the United States. At Beit Daniel in Tel-Aviv, alone, more than 1,500 school children, together with their teachers and parents, participate in model Tu B'Shevat seders every year as part of the synagogue's School and Shul program.

"You might say this is 'Jewish renewal' at its best," said Azari. "They study the importance of protecting and improving the environment, observe one of the most beautiful Jewish traditions, and often combine this with planting saplings in a JNF forest."

"The creation of a Bible forest is fitting because the Bible, which tells the story of the people of Israel, uniquely symbolizes the spirit of Israel," concluded Leket. "With the development over the next few years of the new forest, which was inspired by children, [and] concern for the environment combined with Jewish tradition, will bring us full circle, back to our roots."

Ruth Heiges is a writer with Israel Press Service.

^TOP