Galvanizing celebration

Editorial

It's often said that nothing galvanizes the Jewish community like tragedy. We can disprove that sad truism by tapping into a centuries-old tradition, the celebration of Tu B'Shevat, the new year of the trees. Tu B'Shevat represents an opportunity to reconnect as a community by reconnecting to nature, to the rhythm of birth, growth, decline, decay and rebirth.

Tu B'Shevat also reconnects the Diaspora to the land of Israel. For nearly two millennia, Israel existed only as a concept, as a dream. Annual Tu B'Shevat festivities helped keep that dream alive. After the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, the holiday gained fresh significance, as Diaspora Jews observed symbols of the land of Israel, knowing simultaneously that Jews were literally cultivating the land of Israel.

In recent months we have gathered frequently to reconnect with Israel - not to celebrate but to respond to unfolding tragedies in the Jewish state now under siege from hostile neighbors. But on Tu B'Shevat we can rally in celebration of Israel reborn.

We can get together for a walk at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, at the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater, followed by a noon-4 p.m. Tu B'Shevat Festival offering live entertainment, a tree planting ceremony, folk dancing and Israeli foods and wine.

The day will include Tu B'Shevat seders, eating fruits and grains native to Israel that recounts a custom originated in the 16th century by the Kabbalistic Jews of Safed. The Kabbalists teach that eating the produce from trees symbolizes eating from the tree of life, to bring divine goodness and blessing into the world.

Our gathering to celebrate both our tradition and our connection to the modern state of Israel will help to unite our community in acts intended to bring goodness and blessing into our Valley.

The JNF festival is a way for our entire Jewish community - families, friends, affiliated, unaffiliated, newcomers, long-time residents from throughout the Valley - to unite. Nothing ought ever to galvanize our Jewish community like a chance to celebrate.

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