Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on January 29, 2013 by Rachel Rosenbluth
Tu Bishvat. It’s a day to plant a tree, hug a tree, or nap under a tree. Tu Bishvat symbolizes grounded-ness and growth; rooted-ness and renewal. I celebrated this year’s Tu Bishvat by joining Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) on a trip to Qusra, a Palestinian community in the West Bank. Beginning with blessings in Hebrew and Arabic for planting trees and for peace, we joined with the community to plant 200 olive trees to replace the trees that have been continuously damaged or uprooted by extremists from a nearby settlement. Planting olive trees was an act of sanctifying the day of Tu Bishvat, of solidarity with a Palestinian community, of celebrating the beauty of trees, of promoting wholeness and love in the universe, and of planting the seeds of justice and tikun olam. It was a meaningful opportunity to meet the youth from Qusra, and to meet 60 passionate Israeli and international activists. It was both a humanizing and spiritual experience, and I am so grateful for celebrating such a special Tu Bishvat!
200 trees to plant
Prayer for tree planting
Yazzen and Mahmoud planting a tree
Photo of Me by Vardit Goldner
Photo by qusra.net
(can you find me?)
