In Israel, every time that a forest burns down, we mourn as a country. (I wrote about the recent fire in Mount Carmel in my Dec. 31 column.) The green around us means a lot to us as Israelis.
Last week we celebrated Tu b’Shevat, the birthday for nature and trees. In Israel it has become a celebration of planting trees. It is an ancient holiday that comes from the times of Mishna (about 2,000 years ago).
One of Tu b’Shevat’s messages is the responsibility we, as human beings, have for nature around us. We work to take care of it, creating a better environment. In ancient times, Jews asked themselves what they could do in order to live in peace with the nature around us. Today, we need to ask ourselves “What is within our power to ruin nature less?”
This is probably one of the reasons Israel is rated as one of the top five green countries in the world. Israel is the home of a number of innovations in green technology, including:
• solar water heating technology
• drip irrigation systems
• the idea on how to make widespread electric car chargers available to encourage the use of electric cars
• a leader in the field of water desalinization
• thriving agriculture systems in the desert
I’m proud to say that Israel doesn’t export only advanced computer software or security systems. We also export technology that makes the world a better place.
So, as an ecological holiday, Tu b’Shevat’s relevance is more important today than ever. If we, as human beings, don’t take the destruction of the earth seriously, our children and grandchildren will pay the price.
I’m happy to say that Judaism cherishes nature and the animals around us. It begins with the Talmud saying that we have to give our animals food to eat before we eat. It continues in the new law recently passed in the Knesset that forbids the import of cosmetics that were tested on animals. In fact, the law forbids Israeli manufacturers to test cosmetics on animals as well.
As human beings, we were given a lot of strength. But along with any strength, there comes responsibility too. As the Jewish people, the “Chosen People,” we carry even more responsibility on our shoulders to understand our place in the world and to take care of it. We call that tikkun olam. Tu b’Shevat is the ultimate way to make an ecological tikkun olam. In Israel, the greatest ecological challenge right now is to regenerate the forested areas of Mount Carmel that burned in the fire. Which is why this past Tu b’Shevat, Israelis planted more trees than usual. We can do good deeds for nature anywhere around the globe and any day of the year. But like Earth Day in the United States, Tu b’Shevat is a great time to reflect on both why we do it, and how can we continue to give back to nature.
If you would like to learn more about Israeli life, contact me at (913) 327-8124 or on Facebook — Lilach Nissim Shlichah.
