Tu BiShvat 5770 & JNF: Talking Points 2010

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1 Tu BiShvat 5770 & JNF: Talking Points 2010 JNF Mission: JNF has been the caretaker for the land of Israel since 1901, working to not just plant trees, but to preserve and develop all the land on behalf of the Jewish people. JNF was established by the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basle in 1901 to acquire land for the World Zionist Organization from Ottoman ruled Palestine. The land acquired by JNF was to be exclusively for the Jewish settlement and agricultural purposes. More than trees: While planting trees and building 1000 parks, forestry and ecology is only part of what JNF does, it isn t all we do we proudly devote ourselves to these action areas: We are helping to combat Israel s water crisis by building reservoirs-197 have been completed filled with recycled water and rain runoff ; developing 25 new communities in the Negev-seven are being built as we speak; building critically needed security roads; building and supporting outstanding research and development centers; building needed tourism and recreation infrastructure-creating jobs and economic opportunities for all Israelis and educating Jews in the US about Israel and the environment. What is Tu BiShvat? The Talmud describes There are four new years... the first of Shvat is the new year for trees according to the ruling of Beit Shammai; Beit Hillel, however, places it on the fifteenth of that month. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1). Tu BiShvat marks the end of one agricultural season, and celebrates spring s rebirth & renewal. Tu BiShvat is an opportune time to appreciate the connection between humankind and the earth JNF & Tu BiShvat Connection Tu BiShvat is the Jewish Arbor Day, and so has become closely associated with JNF, since a popular way to celebrate the holiday is to plant trees in the Land of Israel. In 106 years, JNF has planted over 240 million trees, transforming over 250,000 acres of arid land into lush green forests, reclaiming that land from the desert. Because of JNF s forestry expertise and commitment to environmental protection, Israel is one of two countries to end the 20th century with more trees than it had at the start. We have become a global environmental leader because we learned and experienced the challenges of tending to the Land of Israel s environment the hard way- with our hands in the earth. Originally, JNF starting planting trees because it was needed improvement on the land that we bought during the time the Ottoman Turks controlled the Land of Israel. Today, we plant trees because we know that trees are vital for our society and our ecosystem.. Trees help the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, breaking it down into carbon and oxygen. The oxygen is released back into the air while the carbon is stored in the tree. About half of the weight of a mature tree is carbon. The trees already planted by JNF have absorbed an estimated 110 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Operation Northern Renewal what better way to celebrate Tu BiShvat than to help replant 2 million trees that were lost in the damage from the war with Hizbollah in the summer of Interestingly, many of the trees that were lost were hand-planted pine trees, planted by waves of new immigrants to recreate the great pine forests of Europe.. Though quick to grow, they are not indigenous to the region and are also quick to burn. Now after the war and then after the shmitta year-the seventh year that we do not plant according to the Torah, JNF foresters will introduce indigenous species, such as eucalyptus, cypress, almond and pistachio trees.

2 The History of Tu BiShvat Long before there was Earth Day there was Tu BiShvat, The Jewish New Year for Trees which falls on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat and marks the time when trees begin to drink in the rainfall of the new year. It is a celebration of spring s rebirth and renewal, an appreciation of the interconnectedness of man and nature, and the marker by which a tree s age is determined. Tu BiShvat has its roots in the Bible: On the third day of creation, God created "seed-bearing plants, fruit trees after their kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it" (Genesis 1:11). God then put Adam in the garden to "till it and tend it" (2:15), making humans stewards of the earth. Tu BiShvat was the date used by farmers to calculate the year's crop yield and determine the tithe that the Bible requires. It also marks the beginning and end of the first four years of a tree's growth, during which it is forbidden to eat its fruit. This year Tu BiShvat will be celebrated on January 22, As the Jewish Arbor Day, Tu BiShvat embodies the strong dedication to ecology, environmentalism and conservation that Jewish National Fund has championed since its inception in Tu BiShvat reminds us that no matter what happens, we all have to share this planet and care for it," said Russell F. Robinson, CEO of Jewish National Fund. Over the years, Tu BiShvat has taken on the theme of planting trees in Israel, making it JNF's holiday, he added. Perhaps no other organization is as strongly associated with a holiday as JNF is with Tu BiShvat. Since its founding, JNF has planted more than 240 million trees in Israel to protect the land, prevent soil erosion, green the landscape, and preserve vital ecosystems. The trees maintain forest health, combat desertification, protect watersheds, and manage water flow. Additionally, they create a green lung to combat carbon dioxide emissions in the region. JNF's success at planting trees in Israel has resulted in naturally expanded forests. Years go, celebratory customs varied from country to country: Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe closed the schools on Tu BiShvat. As students left the synagogue after the morning prayers, the teacher was expected to hand out brandy and leykach, sweet cakes, which he had purchased with his own money. Sephardi Jews, originally from Spain, held a special Tu BiShvat Seder at which they ate 30 kinds of fruit from Israel: 10 whose outsides and insides were both eaten like grapes 10 whose outsides were eaten but whose insides were thrown away like carobs and 10 whose insides were eaten but whose outsides were thrown away like almonds. These three groups symbolized the three levels of creation explained by the Kabbalah. In Salonika, Greece, a festive meal was served on Tu BiShvat. Even little children were allowed to stay up late and try and spot the angel, who, according to their legend, tapped the head of each plant and told it grow! Jews in Izmir, Turkey, each said the blessing for a special food (chosen from those mentioned in Psalm 147) on Tu BiShvat. The father blessed wheat (to earn his bread plentifully); the mother blessed the fruit of the vine (to have many children). The son chose olives, the daughter, pomegranates. Babies were give apples and honey. During the early pioneer movement in late 18th and early 19th century Palestine, Jewish pioneers linked the environmentalism of Tu BiShvat with the practice of planting trees in the land of Israel. More recently, Jewish environmentalists adopted Tu BiShvat as a "Jewish Earth Day," with organized Seders, tree-plantings and ecological restoration activities, as a way to express a specifically Jewish commitment to caring for nature and protecting the land. In Israel, Tu BiShvat is a time for families to get together, visit forests and plant trees. A 2002 poll showed that 93% of Israelis believe that Tu BiShvat tree plantings are essential to enlarging the country's green belts. More than two million trees are planted annually in Israel during Tu BiShvat alone. To plant a tree in Israel, visit or call TREE.

3 How to Conduct a Tu BiShvat Seder Over three hundred years ago, in the beautiful mountaintop city of Tzfat, the Kabbalists developed the custom of the Tu BiShvat Seder based on the mystical text P ri Etz Hadar (Fruit of the Goodly Tree). Today, there is no set liturgy for a modern Tu BiShvat Seder. Rather, each Seder includes a unique selection of readings, songs, and mediations about man s intricate relationship with the natural world around him. At a Tu BiShvat Seder, we drink four cups of wine and eat a variety of fruits, nuts, and grains, including the seven species (shivat haminim) for which the Torah praises Israel in Devarim 8:7-8: For the Lord your G-d brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey. The structure of the Seder is based on the four levels of physical and spiritual life described by the Kabbalists: Assiyah (Action) We think about the physical world and the actions we can take to repair nature and keep it whole. We eat fruits and nuts with a tough outer shell and a soft inside (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pomegranates, grapefruit, pineapple, coconut, pistachios, bananas, kiwi) reminding us that G-d protects both our bodies (outside) and our souls (inside). We also drink a cup of white wine to symbolize the winter months when nature is asleep. Yetzirah (Formation) We think about energy, emotions, and creativity. We eat fruits with soft outer shells and hard insides or pits (dates, olives, avocados, peaches, plums, cherries, apricots) to remind us that with a strong heart and pure vision, or lives grow richer and deeper. The second cup of wine is mainly white with a bit of red, symbolizing the approach of springtime and the appearance of the first flowers in the newly thawed earth. Beriyah (Creation) We think about ideas, hopes, and dreams, as well as the natural laws and patterns of nature that govern the universe. We eat fruits that are soft throughout (figs, seedless grapes, blueberries, raisins, raspberries, strawberries) acknowledging that there is no difference between our inner feelings and our outer selves. The third cup of wine, half red and half white, symbolizes the summer months when fruits and vegetables are plentiful, the air is warm, and we are reminded of the richness of life. Atzilut (Nobility) We think about loving kindness, spirituality, and beauty. We feel close to G-d and remember that each creature is a part of our vast universe. We do not eat any fruits to symbolize Atzilut because G-d is timeless, infinite, and impossible to describe. We drink a full cup of red wine to symbolize summer s transition into fall, when plants turn inward to prepare their seeds, animals turn inward for rest, and people turn inward to think about the year that has passed and the one that is beginning. We acknowledge that our purpose is to live in harmony and balance with all of G-d s creations.

4 Quotes about Trees If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. ~Henry David Thoreau You can live for years next door to a big pine tree, honored to have so venerable a neighbor, even when it sheds needles all over your flowers or wakes you, dropping big cones onto your deck at still of night. ~Denise Levertov I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines. ~Henry David Thoreau The trees are God's great alphabet: With them He writes in shining green Across the world His thoughts serene. ~Leonora Speyer I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far! ~John Muir Who leaves the pine-tree, leaves his friend, Unnerves his strength, invites his end. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Woodnotes" God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. ~John Muir I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do. ~Willa Cather Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats. ~Woody Allen If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. ~Jack Handey I think that I shall never see A billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I'll never see a tree at all. ~Ogden Nash, "Song of the Open Road," 1933 The groves were God's first temples. ~William Cullen Bryant, "A Forest Hymn" Trees are your best antiques. ~Alexander Smith There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~Minnie Aumonier It is difficult to realize how great a part of all that is cheerful and delightful in the recollections of our own life is associated with trees. ~Navy Rear Admiral Wilson Flagg The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert

5 Tu BiShvat Recipes Orange chicken with dried fruit 1 chicken, divided 1 large onion Olive oil for sautéing ½ cup pitted prunes ½ cup dried apricots ½ cup raisins ½ cup orange juice 1. Soak dried fruit in orange juice for one hour. 2. Preheat oven to 350º. 3. Chop onion and sauté with olive oil in a large skillet. 4. Add chicken pieces and brown on all sides. 5. Transfer all ingredients to a baking dish. 6. Bake for about 1 hour. Basmati rice with raisins, pine nuts, and almonds 1 cup basmati rice Olive oil for sautéing 2 tablespoons raisins 2 tablespoons pine nuts ½ cup slivered almond Handful chopped parsley 1 teaspoon orange zest Salt to taste 1. Sauté rice on low heat for about 1 minute and add 2 cups water and salt. 2. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. 3. Toast pine nuts and almonds on a baking sheet. 4. Add pine nuts, almonds, raisins, parsley, orange zest and salt. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Dried Fruit Tart 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup toasted hazelnuts, ground 2 tablespoons sugar 6 oz butter 1 egg 1 tablespoon cold water 1 egg, beaten for glazing Filling: 7 oz pitted prunes 4 ½ oz dried apricots 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped ½ cup raisins ½ cup sugar ½ cup walnuts, chopped 2 oz melted butter ½ cup cognac 1. Preheat oven to 350º. 2. Place flour, ground nuts, sugar and butter in food processor and process until a breadcrumb consistency is achieved. 3. Add egg and water and continue processing until a ball is formed. 4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. 5. Place prunes, apricots, apples and raisins in a pot, cover with water and cook for about 20 minutes, until the fruit has softened. 6. Drain water from pot and add sugar, walnuts, melted butter and brandy. Cook 5 minutes. 7. Roll out 2/3 of the dough and transfer to a pie dish, so that the edges flow over. 8. Spread fruit mixture in pie dish. 9. Roll out remaining dough, cut into strips and arrange them over the filling to form a lattice. 10.Fold dough inward from the edges. 11.Brush with a beaten egg. 12.Bake for about ½ hour.

6 JNF GoNeutral Talking Points The effects of global warming on the environment are already evident. Glaciers are melting, severe storms and droughts are becoming more frequent, and animals are being forced out of their natural habitats. Left unchecked, rising temperatures can have disastrous consequences for our planet, including intense heat waves, destruction of coastal communities because of rising sea levels, droughts and wildfires, and species extinction. The burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) for energy releases carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere, trapping solar heat and increasing the earth s temperature in a process known as the greenhouse effect. While a variety of gases cause the greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide is responsible for approximately 65% of human-induced global warming. Through activities such as driving a car, flying on an airplane, and doing laundry, the average person is responsible for emitting 23 tons of carbon dioxide each year (this includes the CO2 emitted in the production of goods we purchase). The first step in making a difference is to cut down on these emissions. The next step is to go carbon neutral. This involves determining the amount of carbon dioxide you do emit and offsetting it by supporting environmentally friendly practices -- such as planting trees in Israel with Jewish National Fund -- that reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, breaking it down into carbon and oxygen. The oxygen is released back into the air while the carbon is sequestered, or stored, in the tree. About half of the weight of a mature tree is carbon. The success of planting trees to offset carbon emissions depends on the sustainability of the forests planted. All trees give of some carbon dioxide naturally, but as long as a tree is alive and growing, it will always absorb and store more carbon dioxide than it emits. This is why mature forests are called carbon sinks. With over 100 years of experience as caretaker of the land of Israel, Jewish National Fund has planted more than 240 million trees, transforming over 250,000 acres of arid land into lush green forests. Because of JNF s forestry expertise and commitment to environmental protection, Israel is one of two countries to leave the 20th century with more trees than it had at the start. The trees already planted by JNF have absorbed an estimated 110 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. After devoting a century to developing forests and making the desert bloom, JNF now works to protect these forests from 21st century challenges such as fire, drought and soil erosion. In 1987, JNF began an educational exchange partnership with the USDA Forest Service. The two organizations work together to mitigate the effects of insects, fire, and soil erosion; apply agro-forestry and resource management techniques; and develop outreach and education programs for field workers in the U.S. and Israel. This collaboration has resulted in the application of better land and forest, fire, watershed, and timber management techniques. Each tree will absorb an average of one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. The average tree lives for 70 years. Global warming is a global problem and its effects are not confined to the areas where carbon dioxide emissions originate. Therefore, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in Israel s atmosphere has a positive effect on the global ecosystem. JNF will plant a variety of trees in keeping with their diversified forestry program. In addition to planting trees to offset carbon emissions, JNF is looking to the future and conducting much research in the area of alternative means of energy. Funding of this research is an integral part of the JNF Go Neutral program. An advisory board of environmentalists and scientists will be supplying periodic articles and will be available occasionally for speaking engagements.