64 Friday, February 1, 1980

THE DETROIT JEWISH MS

`A Piece of Jade' A Short Story for Tu b'Shevat

By DVORA WAYSMAN

World Zionist Organization

A shaft of sunlight struck
the balcony of Ruth's
Jerusalem apartment as
she watered her dearly-
loved plants . . . the scarlet
geranium, the sprig of
lavendar, the purple Afri-
can violet and her latest ac-
quisition, a piece of jade,
only one-inch high in its
clay pot.
It was certainly unpre-
possessing — just a brown
stem with one green leaf.
Hardly worth the trouble to
cultivate, except for one
thing. Her sister had said,
"You must grow this. It's a
magic plant."
"What on earth do you
mean?"
"You've never heard of it?
It's jade, and it means 'hap-
piness in the home.' "
Ruth looked incredulous.
"I didn't even know there
was a plant called jade.
Where did you hear such a

superstition?"
Judith was evasive. "I
think it came from China.
But it's true. If it
flourishes, your home
will always be happy.
You just have to re-
member to keep it moist
— never let it dry out."
It was Tu b'Shevat, the
New Year of the Trees, and
they had been walking with
Ruth's children in Ein
Kareni,- a lovely village
where the 20th Century had
not yet caught up.
Whitewashed villas sat atop
steep hills, with vines bear-
ing fat melons climbingup
the walls.
Tu b'Shevat marks the
beginning of spring in Is-
rael, and blood red poppies
and anemones were peeping
out of crevices in the rocks.
Almond trees were opening
their buds and bedecking
their branches with rose-
white blossoms.
The children had ex-

plained to their mother and
their aunt that it was a time
for planting trees — they
had learned about it at
school. They had even heard
the biblical injunction:

"The 15th day of the 11th
month shall be a day of
planting unto you. Every
tree, flower and plant shall
be remembered on that day.
And it shall be when thou
art come to the Land, thou
shall plant every variety of
tree . ."

Ruth liked the idea, so
they took home the jade
plant they found in Ein
Karem and planted it in a
clay pot. Later she found out
its botanical name — cras-
sula argentea — and al-
though it was really a
shrub, not a tree, the chil-
dren felt satisfied that they
had fulfilled the mitzva of
planting something with
their own hands.
That had been two weeks
earlier. So much had hap-

A Harbinger of Spring

The New Year of the Trees
Is A Special Time in Israel

By DR. SHMUEL
HIMELSTEIN

World Zionist Organization

JERUSALEM — During
the entire month of Shevat,
only one day is special, and
that day is Tu b'Shevat
("Tu" representing the He-
brew letters Tet and Vav, or
15). Tu b'Shevat, the 15th of
Shevat, occurs tomorrow.
What is so special about this
day? If we seek in the
classical sources, we will
find that it is described as
the Rosh Hashana — the
New Year — of the trees.
Why a New Year for trees?
And why on the 15th of
Shevat? And why is this to
be found in the Mishna,
which is our classic source
for all of Jewish law?
The answer to this is
found in the same classical
sources. It goes back to an-
other aspect of Jewish law
— the tithing of one's fruits.
The owner of a tree or or-
chard had to take all the
crops grown during the
year, and had to separate a
tithe.
Here a legal problem had
to be resolved. What is con-
sidered a "year"? If we are
told that we have to pay our
taxes for a year, we must
first know where the year
begins and where it ends.
Tu b'Shevat, then, is the be-
ginning of the year for ti-
thing.
All fruit frees that blos-
somed before Tti
b'Shevat, were tithed for
the previous year, while
all those that blossomed

after Tu b'Shevat, were
tithed with the following
year's fruit. That is what
is meant by the New Year
for the frees.
Living outside Israel,
most people celebrate Tu
- b'Shevat by serving fruit,
preferably from Israel, but
if that is impossible, at least
serving fruit of those species
which the Torah sees as
being particularly iden-
tified with the country —
grapes, pomegranates, figs,
olives, dates.
There are communities
which celebrate the 15th of
Shevat by eating 15 kinds of
fruit, while there is one
community which literally
tries to have no less than
100 kinds of fruit, for rea-
sons imbedded in Kabala.
We in Israel, who can see
the reclamation projects
that have added thousands
of acres of what used to be
barren land to cultivation,
can sense the importance of
Tu b'Shevat. Even in the
center of the country, driv-
ing to Jerusalem from Tel
Aviv, we see groves growing
where all about them is as
close to desert as one could
imagine. This is even more
visible in the Negev and
Galilee.
Trees and groves are
planted on the holiday all
over the country in honor
(and in memory) of
countless Jews through-
out the world. The Yad
Vashem Institute for the
Holocaust has a special
road planted with trees

pened and Ruth's sister's
holiday in Israel had come
to an end. She was alone
again with her children and
her problems, and each day
seemed to grow in enormity.
Everything had gone wrong
since she left America seven
years ago. Her husband had
died tragically in an acci-
dent two years earlier, leav-
ing her with little money
and the two children —
David, now 14 and Rivka,
aged 10.
She could have returned
to New York where there
was family to help her over
the rough spots, and some-
times she yearned for the
security of a familiar scene
and people who talked like
she did and thought like she
did.

But she couldn't go
back, and even she was
unable to explain why.
Her husband had loved
Israel, but her own feel-
ings had developed more
slowly. At first she re-
sented the tiny apart-
ment and lack of
amenities. The luxuries
hadn't been hard to give
up, but many necessities
were forced to become
luxuries too.

either by or in memory of
It was hard to learn a new
the hundreds of "Right-
language which still
eous Gentiles" who
sounded
strange on her lips;
risked their lives to save
the pressure of changing
Jews in World War II.
from a Western to a
Jewish National Fund of-
Middle-Eastern culture; the
ficials point out that we
day-by-day incidents that
offer frees, rather than ti-
often developed into insur-
tles of medals, to our
mountable obstacles.
benefactors.
Then her husband died.
In Israel, almost every
Everyone assumed she
child is involved in a tree-
would
return home and she
planting ceremony of some
had planned to do just that.
kind, usually through his
Instead she found that she
school or youth movment.
had become involved with
Bus transportation tends to
life in Israel — it had hap-
become skimpy during the
pened su unobtrusively that
day — the bus cooperatives
she hadn't even noticed. She
having taken hundreds of
loved to hear David and
buses off their regular
Rivka chattering away in
routes to transport the chil-
Hebrew;
and admired the
dren to their planting areas.
self-assurance and inde-
Moreover, when Tu
pendence that Israel seems
b'Shevat comes around, we
to breed in children. But
begin to feel the first glim-
most of all, she loved
merings that winter might
Jerusalem.
not stay forever, and that
The small indulgence
spring may indeed be on the
with her plants had made
way.
her
late for work. She
It is not surprising, given
noticed immediately that
the nature of the festival,
David
had gone to school
that it is especially beloved
without making his bed.
by farmers and agricultural
Rivka was still toying with
settlements. But it is in
her cornflakes.
truth a national event cele-
"Look at the mess in your
brated throughout the
brother's room. Why didn't
country with special events
you
tell me?" she snapped.
and ceremonies.
Rivka kept her eyes on her
For Israelis, it is not
plate, but the tirade wasn't
merely an abstract concept,
finished. "It wouldn't hurt
but part of our very life. Our
you
to help a bit more
trees are the ones that are
either, Rivka. When I was
planted; our trees are the
your age ..."
ones that are blooming.
The child didn't wait to
Children plant their own
sapling, and then they can
listen. Rivka took her
dishes dutifully to the
follow its growth from its
birthday on Tu b'Shevat.
kitchen, rinsed them and
went to her room. "Why
isn't your school-bag
ready? You know I al-
ways tell you to prepare
everything the night be-
fore!" The stream of
complaints went on,
Rivka not even bothering
to try to stem them. She
knew it would not do any
good. Mummy never lis-
tened anymore.

•

These three children are shown planting frees on
Tu b'Shevat at Kiryat Anavim —50 years ago, in 1929.

She put on her coat and
went to kiss her goodbye,
but her mother was already
running for the bus, her soft
brown hair streaming out
behind her.
When Ruth returned
from work, the two children
were arguing. She heard
them even before she
reached the door. "If I catch
you messing with my be-
longings again, I'll beat
your brains in." Then Riv-
ka's whine: "I didn't break
anything. I don't want your
rotten things anyway!"

Ruth slammed the door,
already feeling the familiar
throbbing in the temples
that heralded her migraine.
The children fell silent. She
prepared dinner auto-
matically, all the injustices
of her life filling her mind
until the tears spilled over.
Dinner was a quiet
meal. She sensed David
watching her reflectively
until she looked at him,
when he would become
absorbed in pushing the
food around on his plate.
She remembered when
he had so much to talk
about with his father —
they all had so much to
talk about in those days.
The evening proceeded in
the way which had become a
familiar pattern — with
herself nagging them about
their homework and a
whole series of their omis-
sions. She never seemed to
run out of complaints. They
in turn listened without
demur, escaping when
possible to the world of tele-
vision with its fictional
happy families, a world re-
plete with fathers and gai-
ety and loving relation-
ships.
They were still watching
when she went to bed. She
felt too exhausted even to
bid them goodnight. She
woke up suddenly hours
later with a sense of ap-
prehension. Zig-zags of
lightning rent the sky in
two, the thunder rumbled
ominously. Outside there
was a noise of things crash-
ing in the rain.
At first she didn't know
why she was so frightened.
Then she thought of her
plants — perhaps the crash
had been her flowerpots.
Suddenly she remembered
her piece ofjade. This might

be her punishment for her
coldness to her children.
What was it Rivka had said?
In Shevat, God judges the
trees and decides which are
destined to flourish and
grow tall, which to wither
and shrink. Perhaps she
was being judged along with
the trees.
She thought also of the
superstition about her
jade plant. If it lay
bruised and broken on
the balcony— such a frail
little plant — it might
mean that there would
never again be happiness
in her home. Perhaps she
had destroyed the chance
forever.
Shivering, she pulled on
her gown. and slippers and
made her way outside. The
rain beat mercilessly on her
face. She stumbled over
something — no, just a fal-
len garden chair. With a
breath of relief, she picked
up her piece ofjade in its red
clay pot and took it inside
where it would be safe from
the storm. Then she made
her way to the children's
room, arranging the blan-
kets gently around them.
Rivka smiled in her sleep
and Ruth bent to kiss her.
David was awake. "Some
storm, eh Mum," he said
tentatively.
"It will soon be over" she
assured him. She sat on his
bed and rumpled his hair
like Dad used to do. In the
dark, and with his sister as-
leep, he didn't seem to mind.
After a minute, he put his
arms around her, and
locked together, they cried
out their sense of loss.
"I'm going to try har-
der" she whispered to her
son. "I know how terrible
it is for you without Dad,
and I've been making it
even worse."

"It's alright Mum," he an-
swered softly. "111 look after
you."
The storm abated during
the night, and Ruth awoke
to dappled golden sunshine.
She got up to prepare break-
fast. The piece of jade stood
on her coffee table. Some-
thing about it was different.
Ruth caught her breath.
Tremulously she bent to
touch it. The little plant had
braved the storm, and had
unfurled its flag of victory
— one new leaf!