TU B’SHVAT (15th of Shvat) DAY OF TREE PLANTING

By Stan Schroeder (adapted from Jewish Agency for Israel JAFI)

In ancient times, the land of Israel was covered with forest. During the years the Jews spent in exile, the forests were cut down by the land's new inhabitants and the soil became dry and yellow desert. Only towards the end of the 19th century, with the beginnings of Zionism, did Jews start returning to the land of their forefathers. The representatives of the Zionist movement considered forestation a sacred duty, the symbol of the arrival of the era of renewal. With scant regard for the effort required, the enthusiasts cleared the hills of stones and planted forests. In the mosquito infested swamps they planted eucalyptus trees. The first tree-planting Tu B'Shvat ceremony of modern times was performed by the inhabitants of the Galilee moshav of Yessod HaMa'alah on the western shore of the lake in 1884. On that day, hundreds of trees were planted, including 770 citrus trees.

The First Aliyah followed pogroms in Russia in 1881-1882, with most of the olim (immigrants) coming from Eastern Europe; a small number also arrived from Yemen. Members of Hibbat Zion and Bilu, two early  Zionist movements that were the mainstays of the First Aliyah, defined their goal as "the political, national, and spiritual resurrection of the Jewish people in Palestine."

Though they were inexperienced idealists, most chose agricultural settlement as their way of life and founded moshavot — farmholders' villages based on the principle of private property. Three early villages of this type were Rishon Lezion, Rosh Pina, and Zikhron Ya'akov.

The First Aliyah settlers encountered many difficulties, including an inclement climate, disease, crippling Turkish taxation and Arab opposition. They required assistance and received scanty aid from Hibbat Zion, and more substantial aid from Baron Edmond de Rothschild. He provided the moshavot with his patronage and the settlers with economic assistance, thereby averting the collapse of the settlement enterprise. The Yemenite olim, who mostly settled in Jerusalem, were first employed as construction workers and later in the citrus plantations of the moshavot.

This tradition of planting trees began way back in 1890, when Zeev Yabetz the famous teacher and writer went out with his students in a school in Zichron Yaakov for a celebratory planting. In 1908, this initiative was popularized by the Israeli Teachers trade union and later on by the Land Development Authority.

In 1908, the Teachers' Union declared Tu B'Shvat a day of tree-planting. The city of Tel Aviv had not yet been founded, so the students from the Jewish schools of Yaffo [Jaffa] planted trees on the agricultural allotments of the college at Mikve Yisrael, not far from Yaffo. In 1913, fifteen hundred Jerusalem school students went out to the settlement of Motza, near the city entrance, where they fulfilled the precept of planting trees. During the First World War [1914-18], the Jewish population of the country lived in constant danger. The inhabitants of Tel Aviv fled the city and the tree-planting tradition stopped, only to be renewed during the British mandate period - since when it has continued uninterrupted.

The values that implore us to take care of the earth today are values that have always been integral to Judaism. Ba’al Tashchit—Do not destroy.  Take care of the earth.

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, all forestation has been transferred to the "Keren Kayemet leYisrael" [Jewish National Fund], and thousands of dunams of forest have been planted. The JNF is the largest foundation within the Zionist movement and has been responsible for purchasing land in Israel for settlement and forestation since 1905.

On Tu B'Shvat in 1949, Jerusalem was encircled by a "Forest of Defenders" in memory of those who fell in the War of Independence. The first tree in the forest was planted by then Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion. The day also marked the beginning of the Knesset's first session, which is why the Knesset celebrates its own birthday on the fifteenth of Shvat.

Today Tu B’Shvat has a special significance. It combines the planting of trees, a symbol of Israel’s commitment to forestation and the environment, with the birthday of the Knesset, a symbol of Israel’s democratic government, the only democracy in the Middle East. TuB’Shvat is also the birthday of the Israeli Knesset. February 8 will be the Knesset’s 63rd birthday. Let us pray that this, the 18th Knesset, will guide the Jewish State toward peace and security and become a “Light unto the Nations”.

I have included a Tu B’Shvat poem in the right hand column. It is by Shin Shalom, a renowned Israeli writer born into a Hassidic family in Poland in 1904. The family moved to Vienna in the wake of World War I, and then to Jerusalem in 1922. He was a prolific writer of prose and poetry until his death in 1990.

Board Meeting Dvar Torah December 14, 2011 Parsha Vayeshev

This week’s Torah portion is Vayeshev, meaning “and he lived”, pertaining to Jacob who settled in the land where his father sojourned, the land of Canaan. It contains the familiar story of Joseph and his brothers and the lesser known story of Judah, Jacob’s fourth son, and Tamar, the widow of Er, Judah’s first-born who died without fathering a son.

Let’s start with Jacob’s 12 sons as they represent our 12 tribes at the time of Jacob’s apportioning the land before his death. Jacob had four wives (or two wives and two concubines): Rachel, the younger daughter of Laban, whom he loved; Leah, the older daughter of Laban, whom he married when Laban substituted her for Rachel on their wedding night; Bilhah, Rachel’s servant; and Zilpah, Leah’s servant. Sons 1 – 4 were from Leah, 5 and 6 from Bilhah, 7 and 8 from Zilpah, 9 and 10 from Leah, and 11 and 12 (Joseph and Benjamin) from Rachel.

According to tradition, these were our ancestors. Jacob was the last of the Patriarchs and the third generation of a people going back over one hundred generations. We are a people who gave the world our One God. We are reading a story that has been told and read by prophets, rabbis, scholars, kings, writers, scientists, artists, tradesmen, milkmen, and ordinary men and women like us for over 3,000 years. Let’s think about that as we look at the events described in Vayeshev.

Joseph goes out to find his brothers who are tending his father’s flocks so he can report back to his father how his jealous brothers and the flocks are doing. When he finds them in Dothan, they see him coming and at first plotted to kill him, then were persuaded by Reuben, the eldest, to throw him into a pit after taking his multicolored coat. They planned to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites (the family of their grandfather’s half-brother). The Midianites beat them to the punch and sold Joseph before the brothers went back to the pit to fetch him. All the brothers were left with was his coat.

We now take a detour in the story and read about Judah, the fourth-oldest brother, who left his brothers to camp near an Adullamite named Hirah and where he married a Canaanite woman named Shua. The years pass and Judah finds a wife for his first-born son, Er. Her name is Tamar. Er dies before Tamar bears him a son, so Judah tells Onan, his second son to impregnate Tamar in Er’s name. Onan manages to avoid this, but is also struck dead for failing. Judah tells Tamar to wait for his third son, Shelah, to grow up and provide the son.

The years pass and Shua dies. Tamar dresses as a harlot and seduces Judah. They agree upon a kid as payment. Until the kid is delivered, Tamar demands he leave a pledge of his seal and cord, and staff. When Judah sends Hirah with the kid to redeem his pledge, the harlot cannot be found. Three months later Judah finds out that Tamar is pregnant by harlotry. Tamar shows him the pledge he left and names him as the father. Judah agrees he was wrong to withhold his third son from her and acknowledges responsibility for the birth of twin sons.

Back to the familiar story of Joseph, we are told he is sold to Potiphar in Egypt. Potiphar is a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward. He took a liking to Joseph and made him his personal assistant and put him in charge of his household and everything he owned. We are told Joseph is well-built and handsome and Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce him. Joseph repeatedly refuses. Finally Potiphar’s wife pulls off Joseph’s shirt as he is escaping from her chamber, and accuses Joseph of attempting to rape her. With the shirt as evidence, Joseph is sent to prison.

Then we have the dreams of his fellow prisoners, the chief baker and the chief cupbearer, Joseph’s interpretations, and the subsequent decisions by the Pharaoh that confirmed Joseph’s predictions. End of Torah portion, to be continued next week.

If it weren’t for all of the pilfered clothing, Joseph wouldn’t have risen to power, Joseph’s brothers and father would have starved to death in the famine, as would have the entire world including Egypt, there would have been no exodus, no Torah, no Jewish people. The world was saved all because of three shmatas.

We are the latest generation. Well, maybe our children and grandchildren are the latest, and we are passing the future of our people to them. And we are keeping our stories alive by reading and telling them. And we are studying these stories, looking at the metaphors and symbolism, to guide us toward a meaningful Jewish life.

Stan Schroeder