As Tu b'Shevat draws near, it's time to contemplate the wonders of the natural world -- not least of which is the tree. Over a century ago, the American poet Joyce Kilmer summarized his feelings in lines which many Hanassi members will know from their schooldays:
TreesI think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Two of our more creative members, Heshy Engelsberg and Max Stern, have developed other ways of expressing their relationship to the natural world, as epitomised by the plant kingdom.
Heshy has produced a splendid video, Tu b'Shevat Jerusalem 2025, with nearly six minutes of brilliantly coloured foliage plus trees in close-up and at a distance. You can enjoy it by clicking here.
Max's forte is music, and here you can listen to his unforgettably rhythmic arrangement of the folksong Atzei Shittim Omdim. for a four-part choir and wooden sticks. The lyrics? "And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up" (Exodus 26:15). Max adds:
When the shittim (acacia trees) were selected for the construction of the Tabernacle in the desert they intoned a song of praise to God. It was their expression of appreciation and thus they sang.
Midrash informs us that the shittim-wood for the Tabernacle came from paradise, whence Adam took it with him when he was driven out. Subsequently, it came into the possession of Abraham, who bequeathed it to Isaac, who bequeathed it to Jacob. When he reached Egypt, Jacob planted a grove of acacia trees and admonished his sons to do the same:
“Plant shittim trees, then when God will bid you build Him a sanctuary, you shall have in your possession the wood required for its construction.”
The boards that were made for the Tabernacle out of shittim wood never decayed but endure to all eternity.
Have you registered yet for this year's Tu b'Shevat Seder? Time is running out, so be sure to do so very soon! For details, click here. To register, call Jeremy on 053 455 8367.
