USCJ: January 2007

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Shiurim

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues."

- Dr. Seuss, "The Lorax"

Questions for Discussion:

How do we speak for trees? What do trees need said for them?
Have you ever tried to grow a tree? Did you grow it from seed or from a sapling? What happened in the end? Were you able to taste its fruit? Does it still grace your yard?
The Torah speaks for trees. For example, in Deuteronomy 20:19 it says: When you shall besiege a city... you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. For is the tree of the field human, that it should be besieged by you? And in Micah 4:4, the image of ultimate peace is: But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid. What is our responsibility to trees, even when we are not making war on a city? What do we gain from a relationship with trees? Why are trees so important that they merit their own holiday – Tu B’Shevat, which falls on February 3 this year?
How do we communicate to our children the real responsibility they have to care for trees, and also for their world? What concrete experiences can we facilitate for children to help them accept this responsibility? Can planting seeds in class be done with enough respect (and persistence) to cultivate grown plants and saplings? What about adopting a tree on the school grounds to care for? Or the class purchasing trees in Israel? There are many Jewish tree stories at www.yourpage.org and information about trees and forests in Israel at www.jnf.org.

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