Tu Bi-Shvat: Birthday of the Trees by Rachel Biale

Tu Bi-Shvat (Arbor Day, the 15th of the month of Shvat) was one of my favorite holidays growing up on a kibbutz in Israel. Every year we would plant trees in a new location selected by the “noynik” – the kibbutz gardener. Here’s a photograph of me in action in third grade.

To be honest, many of the seedlings we planted perished: the 110-degree summer and scant winter rains were too harsh for a lot of them. But one tree that I planted on the hill in the middle of the kibbutz thrived and today as a large tree, it casts a welcome shade on the dusty road everyone takes to the swimming pool.

At New Lehrhaus, the trees of Jewish learning and community building are blooming! Now is the time to announce that this spring, we’re launching a partnership program with Urban Adamah, the Jewish farm in Berkeley:

“Soil to Soul: Agriculture and Jewish Culture, a multi-session program will delve into trees, Jewish farming and the environment and, of course, food and wine: We hope you’ll join us on zoom and/or in-person at Urban Adamah.