We try all year round to try and be green and protective of the environment. Tu Beshvat gives us chance to take some time to remember why it is so important that we remember our responsibility to the earth. Here is a verse from the Torah (the book of Deuteronomy) that reminds us about our responsibility to the trees:
”When in your war against a city you have to surround it for a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field your enemies, so that you should attack them, too?
Steps to Follow for this Exercise:
- Read this verse out loud and see if everybody understands what it means.
- Why should the trees not be cut down?
- What is the message here about human beings' responsibilities to trees?
- How does our treatment of trees compare to our treatment of human beings?
- If the trees are not our enemies, what are they to us? Why?
- Watch this video from The Lorax that also has a message about the treatment of trees. (It is the part where the Once-Ler decides to cut down the Truffela Trees for his new business.) Compare the messages of this clip from The Lorax and the verse from Torah.
- Are the messages the same? What is different about them? Do they go together or not?
2) OUR ROOTS IN ISRAEL
It is a little WEIRD to have a Festival for the Trees in the middle of winter, isn’t it? Not that trees are not important to us all year round, but they really aren’t starting to become green again here in Colorado until March or so. In Israel, however, the trees are sprouting their first buds ... so maybe Tu Beshvat can be a reason to think about our connection to Israel.
Either as a group or by families, take these two Israel quizzes: Quiz #1 and Quiz #2. See what you know!
Has anyone in the group travelled to Israel?
- Direct everyone else to come up with ONE question to ask those who have travelled to Israel.
- Ask the questions (of those who have travelled) and listen to the responses.
3) TREES - MORE THAN EATING!!!
Tu Beshvat celebrates trees and what they mean to us. We think about the ways they (and the rest of nature) provide us food, shelter and safety. Did you know there are other ways we use trees to understand our world?
Tu Beshvat celebrates trees and what they mean to us. We think about the ways they (and the rest of nature) provide us food, shelter and safety. Did you know there are other ways we use trees to understand our world?
- Jews call Torah the Etz Hayim or TREE of Life.
- Scientists and Mathmeticians organize their ideas and their data in TREES.
- When people study their family histories, they usually draw a map of their history called a ‘Family TREE.’
