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USCJ EC Staff Meeting Shiur - February 2006

Questions for Discussion:

1. Jewish texts such as the one above refer to the Jewish people's holiest book, the Torah, as a tree - and not just any tree, but the Tree of Life, Aitz Hayim. What is it about a tree that might make it suitable for this analogy?
2. What's your favorite memory of a tree?
3. The Torah and the Jewish people are also compared to many of the seven speciesof fruits and grains that we eat to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees. For example:
   • If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour (Pirke Avot 3:17).
   • Why is the Torah compared to a fig tree? Because the fruit of most trees…is gathered all at once, but the fig's fruit is gathered gradually, little by little. And so the Torah. One studies a little each day and eventually learns much, because the Torah is not to be learned in one or even two years (Midrash Numbers Rabbah 21:15).
   • As no part of the date palm is wasted - its dates being eaten, its branches used for Hallel, its fronds for covering a Sukkah, its fibers for ropes, its leaves for sweeping, its planed trunk for the ceiling of houses - so are there no Jews without worth: some are versed in Bible, others know Mishnah, some in Talmud, others in Aggadah, some in deeds of piety and still others in deeds of charity (Midrash Numbers Rabbah 3:1).
   What can these quotes (and others that you might know) tell us about the role of the Torah in our lives today? About our relationship with nature and the earth? About our relationships with each other?
4. What do you want to make sure your children know about trees? How will you weave the Torah through your celebration of Tu B'Shevat this year?

Printable version

Maxine Segal Handelman
Consultant for Early Childhood Education,
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism