Tu B'shvat

Okay, slow and steady wins the race...........I am getting there , almost caught up! I'll be caught up just in time for the Pesach onslaught!
So, what are all your memories of Tu B'shvat in chutz l'aretz? Mine consisted of JNF tree planting........not the actual planting of course, the collecting or giving of funds into that envelope with the trees on it, and the bag of gross out of season fruit and the unforgettable boxer, with which we never knew quite what to do! This Tu B'shvat was a new and special experience for all of us. I think I have written before how after spending more and more time here we find ourselves more connected with the land that we had before. When people talk about their gardens or trees or the fruit that comes off of them it is with zest and a love that we never quite understood. So you can well imagine that Tu'Bshvat is a holiday with great meaning and significance here.


On Erev Tu B'shvat we were invited to the house of Ilana and Adiel. You may remember them from Sukkot..Ilana is a teacher at the ulpan and they are a very lovely and special family we feel priviledged to have connected with. We arrived at the Luvitch's home to a table decked out with fruits fresh and dried and vegetation from their garden as centrepieces. Everything was very casual of course in the most lovely way. The kids hung and played and Ilana practised some songs on her guitar. Darrell was to arrive late as he was making his way home from Tel Aviv. The Frankls arrived and the seder began............there is another seder besides the big "SEDER" that goes with pesach. He explained the order and asked questions, gave answers and made alot of brachot! There was wine and fruit cakes and it was amazing. Darrell did arrive in the middle. Ilana pulled out her guitar and we all sang songs about the land and the trees and tu b'shvat. Then they had a Chidon Eitzim (a tree quiz)....they pulled branches out of the vase and asked to which tree it belonged..........you could touch and smell the branches , it was fun. There was a prize for the winner and prizes for the non-winners too. There was a colouring contest for the girls too! It was so nice and meaningful, I never really had related to this chag before.



The next day, in ulpan we again sang songs and had special treats. Everyone all around was so into this chag. On the way over to ulpan in Alon Shvut you could see the beginnings of blossoms, specifically on the almond trees..........the shkadia does porachat and right on time for its special chag!!! Who knew? We had a lady from the nature society give us a presentation/lecture about the different vegetation in Eretz yisrael.......it was very fascinating. Such a small country and so much variety. Ilana told her class a story which Stella retold to me and I found quite moving. She compared the trees and plants to us the new olim. She said we have been transplanted to a new soil, one that is special and the most appropriate soil for our type of tree. It has everything that we need to grow, be healthy and blossom. But when you transplant a tree, it sometimes looks good and then the leaves begin to wilt as the tree readjusts itself to the new soil. Sometimes it takes a short time and sometimes longer but eventually the leaves perk up and begin to regain its colour and then some, the flowers bloom and the tree , now in the best soil for it, grows and takes root and the roots become stronger and deeper with time. When I heard this story I felt as though I could burst out crying at any given moment. Because that is exactly what I felt, a little tired and wilted with this whole adjustment thing, but knowing that this is where it is best for us. Ilana's wish for us was that the transplanting process would go quickly and that we would grow and flourish in the holy land of Israel. What an absolutely beautiful wish!



The kids got of school early of course and made their way home with all their seedling and plants etc. Yonatan dropped his stuff and ran out yelling back at me that everyone was going out the the ma'achaz (outpost) to plant. And off he went. I went to the top of the hill to see what was going on and you could see kids of all ages walking and running out past the water tower to the ma'achaz to plant. B'nei Akiva had peulot of course. It was a beautiful day out to boot, you know a gorgeous spring day, light jacket only......The Sherman Family had a great Tu B'shvat!!!!!!!!!