New Year for the Trees! ✡ "He Placed Him in the Garden of Eden" - ISRAEL365

Now the Lord God took the man, and He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it. GENESIS (2:15)   וַיִּקַּח יְ-הֹוָה אֱ-לֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן עֵדֶן לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ בראשית ב:טו va-yi-kakh a-do-nai e-lo-heem et ha-a-dam va-ya-ni-khay-hu b'-gan ay-den l'av-da u-l'-sham-ra

Today's Israel Inspiration The opening of Genesis outlines God’s intimate involvement with the natural world and describes the Almighty proudly looking upon His handiwork and declaring, “v’hine tov meod” - “and behold, it was very good.” Man is created and is immediately charged with caring for creation, as an “oved,” a worker who builds and crafts, as well as a “shomer,” a watchman who is obligated to keep the world whole for its true Owner. Tonight is the wonderful festival of Tu B'Shvat, the New Year for the Trees, when we renew our biblical commitment to guard and protect His beautiful world. Celebrate this environmental holiday by planting a tree in the Land of Israel! Plant a tree and receive a meaningful certificate » It's Your World A beautiful message for Tu B'Shvat about taking responsibility for the earth. Watch here » Israelis Celebrate Tu B'Shvat, a Jewish Arbor Day In Israel, Tu B’Shvat is like a Jewish Arbor Day. Environmental awareness programs abound and thousands of trees are planted throughout the country. Read more » Shivat Shea Body Lotion with Fig Oil Over the centuries, many have sought to explain the special significance of the ‘Seven Species,’ known as the שבעת המינים in Hebrew (shee-VAT ha-mee-NEEM). Each one contains healthful nutrients that benefit the body and promote wellness. Shivat Natural Cosmetics combine all-natural ingredients and extracts of the Seven Species to bring you skin-supportive cleansing soaps and beauty products that bring you closer not only to nature, but also to the Holy Land. The fig is a symbol of longevity and vitality. Legendary for its medicinal effects, the fig is rich in vitamins that can alleviate skin dryness and acne. It is also rich in antioxidants that fight the damaging effects of environmental pollutants. Get this Great Deal » Today's Israel Photo A beautiful vineyard in the Land of Israel by Boruch Len. See more photos by Boruch Len » Thank You Today's Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Charlotte York of Rock, West Virginia. Todah rabah!   Sponsor a day and receive a free devotional book » “Very Inspirational!! Thank You!” It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!   Stay in Touch » Very inspirational!! Thank you!! Timothy Estes I appreciate your emails. Thanks a lot. I live in Carmarthen, S.Wales UK. Shalom and Blessings to you all. Elaine P. I am from New Zealand, a Filipino-born. Thank you for the information. Joey Shalom, Rabbi Tuly Weisz RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

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Happy Tu B'Shvat! ✡ "A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey"

He brought us to this place and He gave us this Land, a Land flowing with milk and honey. DEUTERONOMY (26:9)   וַיְבִאֵנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וַיִּתֶּן לָנוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ דברים כו:ט va-y'-vi-NU el ha-ma-KOM ha-ZE va-yi-TEN la-NU et ha-a-RETZ ha-ZOT e-RETZ za-VAT kha-LAV u-d'-VASH

Today's Israel Inspiration Here is an interesting tidbit you might not have known: the ‘honey’ that Israel is blessed with does not refer to bee’s honey, but according to Jewish tradition, refers to date honey which was a rich delicacy in Biblical times. From hardly growing any food 100 years ago, miraculously, Israel today is an agricultural exporter and in fact, produces  over 50% of the world’s Medjool dates. For the first time in centuries, it is truly the land flowing with milk and honey! A fascinating new book, "The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel," traces the biblical Seven Species from Biblical times until modern day, and delves deeply into their mystical and medicinal properties, while offering pages of wholesome recipes for each.   Get "The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel" »  10 Commandments with Pastor Keith Johnson In honor of the upcoming Sabbath Torah portion describing the epic 10 Commandments, we present pro-Israel Pastor Keith Johnson's 10-part film series, Scripture Bytes.   Watch the 3rd Commandment: "The Lord's Name in Vain" » 5 Ways to Celebrate Tu B'Shvat As we are now in the biblical Sabbatical year of rest for the Land, this begs the question - how can we celebrate the New Year for the Trees if we cannot actually do anything with the trees this year? Find out here.   Read More » Israel Wildflower Honey The Bible refers to the land of Israel as a 'Land flowing with milk and honey' (Exodus 3:17). Bring a bit of Israel home with this authentic and delicious Israel honey. Get this Great Deal » Today's Israel Photo Boruch Len's great photograph of a bee hovering over a cactus flower in the Land of Israel.   See more photos by Boruch Len » Yesterday's Photo Trivia Yesterday's photo featured Jerusalem’s Old City walls. The walls and its 8 gates were built in 1538 by the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Suleiman mistakenly excluded an important site: the City of David and David's Palace were later discovered close to, but not within, the Sultan's walls.   Thank You Today's Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Loraine Lannom from Fort Stockton, Texas. Toda Raba!   Sponsor a day » “Pastor Johnson's Insight & Explanation...is Wonderful” It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!   Stay in Touch » Dear Rabbi Tuly and Team, I want to share that I am enjoying the Israel Bible virtual classroom. I read the weekly portions in both English and Hebrew and this is really enhancing my learning of Hebrew. In the classroom (also daily Israel365 email) there was a reference link regarding the 10 Commandments (10 matters, 10 things, 10 words) by Pastor Keith Johnson. Today I listened to the first 4 commandments. Pastor Johnson's insight and explanation of the these 10 words of the Lord is wonderful and an added blessing is the Hebrew pronunciation and Hebrew lessons he provides when discussing the commandments. Though a bit technical for the uninitiated, I look forward to the next six and hope that I might take the words of the Lord deeper into my heart. Shalom, Ken in Michigan Shalom, Rabbi Tuly Weisz RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

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Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish New Year for Trees

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)

The Jewish National Fund was established in 1901 to purchase and develop land in the Holy Land.


Planting trees on the barren hills on the
way to Jerusalem (circa 1930)





A government tree nursery on Mt.
Scopus, Jerusalem (circa 1930)

One major activity of the JNF, or in Hebrew the Keren Kayemet LeYisrael, was the planting of trees on Jewish-owned land in Palestine. Many a Jewish home had the iconic JNF blue charity box, or pushke, in order to buy trees.  In its history, the JNF is responsible for planting almost a quarter of a billion trees.

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

In 1935, the Jews of Britain and the JNF established a "Jubilee Forest" near Nazareth.  According to the Jewish Telegraph Agency'saccount at the time, an "oriental cypress tree presented by King George V of England to the Jubilee Forest in the hills of Nazareth will be formally planted by High Commissioner Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope on December 19."

"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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