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USCJ EC Staff Meeting Shiur - January 2008

Questions for Discussion:

1. Think about a time when you planted a tree, helped clear away debris from a play area, created a bird sanctuary, or had a similar experience, and tell your colleagues about it. Describe your feelings upon approaching the task and upon finishing the job.
   
   
2. In recent years, and in recent months, areas of our country, including Southern California, have suffered great fires, which have affected trees and other wildlife. Yet a strange thing often happens after a fire. Trees begin to regenerate. In Southern California, some kinds of chaparral (a general term that applies to various types of brushland) have leaves that are coated with flammable resins, seeds that require intense heat for germination, and roots that are specially adapted to enable the plant to grow in areas that were recently burned. Furthermore, when the chaparral is burned many of the nutrients that have been locked up in it are released and recycled back into the soil. The Douglas fir, found in areas of the northwest, regenerates readily on sites that have been prepared by fire. In fact, nearly all the natural Douglas fir stands in the United States grew on ground that had burned. Common trees and shrubs often are able to sprout from surviving plant parts after a fire. This is a very hopeful response to tragedy. What lessons can we learn from the trees?
   
   
3. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, a Talmudic sage of the first century CE, said: “Any time our wisdom exceeds our good deeds, to what are we likened? To a tree whose branches are numerous but whose roots are few; then the wind comes and uproots it and turns it upside down. ...But when our good deeds exceed our wisdom, to what are we likened? To a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are numerous; even if all the winds of the world were to come and blow against it, they could not budge it from its place...” What are some actions young children can take to make positive changes in their world? How can young children become part of the regeneration process? In Solomon and the Trees, the forest is cut down to build the Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon makes sure that he is not only part of the problem but also part of the solution by planting new trees to regenerate the forest. Where are areas of your community that could benefit by becoming greener? How can your children be part of this process?

Some information gathered at:

• Fire Effects on Trees and Shrubs
• Introduction to Fire Ecology
• Take Action: Protect Our National Forests!

Printable version

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