Israel is gearing up for the holiday of Tu BiShevat (the 15th day of the Hebrew month Shevat) which begins Friday night. The Jewish Agency, the JNF, the Absorption Ministry and Bar Ilan University are among the Israeli institutions hosting special activities in honor of the holiday, known as the ?New Year for trees? in traditional Jewish texts.
The Jewish National Fund traditionally holds nationwide tree planting drives in Israel?s forests around Tu BiShevat, and this year is no exception. The JNF is hosting organized groups of thousands of new immigrants, brought together by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption and the Israel Public Relations Center, for formal tree planting ceremonies around the country. Yesterday, January 14, thousands of immigrants participated in tree plantings in the Ma?aleh HaHamisha forest near Jerusalem, and the coming days will see at least 4,500 new immigrants plant trees, under the auspices of the JNF, in two separate tree planting ceremonies in the north and south. The immigrants will then be given guided tours of the regions in which the trees were planted.
The Jewish Agency?s Education Department opened what is billed as the largest Tu BiShevat seder (festive meal) in the history of Judaism. That is, if you count an internet hook-up as participation. The ceremonies began today, January 15, with live coverage of tree-planting ceremonies by Israeli schoolchildren, broadcast to Jewish schools in the Diaspora. The ceremonies will include live shots from the Western Wall in Jerusalem, educational material presented by experts from the Biblical Nature Preserve Neot Kedumim, near Modi?in, and other events. The broadcast of the seder will continue for 24 hours, in Hebrew, French and English at www.jajz-ed.org.il/iem.
Bar-Ilan University will be hosting its annual seminar on the ?Biblical Commandments Dependent on the Land of Israel? tomorrow, January 16, at the Ramat Gan campus. The seminar will examine the halacha (Jewish law) relating to the Land-based commandments, their history, and their practical application in modern Israel. This year, the seminar will also mark the approaching thirty-day anniversary of the death of Rabbi Yitzchak Arameh, of Netzer Hazani, who was murdered by Arab terrorists in Gush Katif.
The Jewish National Fund traditionally holds nationwide tree planting drives in Israel?s forests around Tu BiShevat, and this year is no exception. The JNF is hosting organized groups of thousands of new immigrants, brought together by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption and the Israel Public Relations Center, for formal tree planting ceremonies around the country. Yesterday, January 14, thousands of immigrants participated in tree plantings in the Ma?aleh HaHamisha forest near Jerusalem, and the coming days will see at least 4,500 new immigrants plant trees, under the auspices of the JNF, in two separate tree planting ceremonies in the north and south. The immigrants will then be given guided tours of the regions in which the trees were planted.
The Jewish Agency?s Education Department opened what is billed as the largest Tu BiShevat seder (festive meal) in the history of Judaism. That is, if you count an internet hook-up as participation. The ceremonies began today, January 15, with live coverage of tree-planting ceremonies by Israeli schoolchildren, broadcast to Jewish schools in the Diaspora. The ceremonies will include live shots from the Western Wall in Jerusalem, educational material presented by experts from the Biblical Nature Preserve Neot Kedumim, near Modi?in, and other events. The broadcast of the seder will continue for 24 hours, in Hebrew, French and English at www.jajz-ed.org.il/iem.
Bar-Ilan University will be hosting its annual seminar on the ?Biblical Commandments Dependent on the Land of Israel? tomorrow, January 16, at the Ramat Gan campus. The seminar will examine the halacha (Jewish law) relating to the Land-based commandments, their history, and their practical application in modern Israel. This year, the seminar will also mark the approaching thirty-day anniversary of the death of Rabbi Yitzchak Arameh, of Netzer Hazani, who was murdered by Arab terrorists in Gush Katif.