Tu B'Shvat
, the Jewish New Year for Trees, Is Celebrated on Saturday
Reforested hills along the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, near Bab el-Wad, or Sha'ar HaGuy (circa 1930) |
Planting trees on the barren hills on the way to Jerusalem (circa 1930) |
A government tree nursery on Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem (circa 1930) |
The photographers of the American Colony recorded the JNF's efforts.
"Afforestation sponsored by Keren Kayemeth" (circa 1935) |
Reforested hillside along the road to Jerusalem. "Demonstrating reforestation possibilities" (circa 1930) |
The day chosen for school children and volunteers to go out to the fields and barren hilltops to plant trees was Tu B'Shvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, a date assigned thousands of years ago in the Mishna for the purposes of determining the age of a tree and its tithing requirements.
Indeed, the date usually coincides with the first blossoms on the almond trees in Israel.
Today, Tu B'Shvat is commemorated as a combination of Arbor Day, environment-protection day, a kibbutz agricultural holiday, and, of course, a day for school outings and plantings.
Postscript
Ceremony of planting the King's tree (1935) at Nahalal |
"The Jubilee Forest is British Jewry's mark of loyalty and devotion to the throne, expressed on the occasion of the royal couple's twenty-fifth jubilee. It will cover a large area of desolate and barren land on the hills of Nazareth which in ancient times were famed for their forest beauty. The forest constitutes the most important effort in reforestation of the Holy Land."
Tomorrow, the trees of Eretz Yisrael |
"The tree shipped by King George was removed from Windsor Great Park in London, where it was the only one of its kind. It is the first ever to have been shipped from England to Palestine."
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Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People
Charlotte, NC USA