Hava Nedeber Ivrit: Tu B'Shevat And Family Ties
By NIRA LEV
Nira Lev is associate professor of
Hebrew language and literature at
the Midrasha College of Jewish
Studies.
Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of
Shevat, is a characteristic chag of
Eretz Israel. It is called Tu B'Shevat
since the otee yot tet-vav which
comprise the word "Tu" have the
numerical value of 15. (Tet is 9 and
vav is 6). Tu B'Shevat falls on
January 30.
Tu B'Shevat is not mentioned in
the Torah. It received its shem:
Rosh Hashanah La-illanot (New
Year of the trees) from the Mishnah
because on this day the choref with
its g'shamim comes to an end and
the sap of the aitzim becomes
active stirring the aitzim into
chayim chadashim.
On Tu B'Shevat, we celebrate
the significance of aitzim in our life
and we demonstrate our ahava and
regard for them.
In Yisrael, a land of aklim
cham, every etz illan is precious.
Aitzim give us mazon, pree to eat,
wood to build batim, n'yar for
s'farim as tzel from the hot
shemesh, and yoffi noy for our
olam. Aitzim also keep the karka
rich and fertile and protect us from
the cold winds.
Although Tu B'Shevat is not the
most important chag in our luach, it
has always been a very special
chag for me. Born and raised in
Yisrael, I have special zichronot
associated with it.
Tu B'Shevat for me is
associated with my saba and savta,
my mother's horim, who I have
never met and about whom I heard
many stories since I remember
myself. How was this association
formed? In Yisrael, Tu B'Shevat has
been chag-ha'n'teeot, the holiday
of planting trees, on which
talmeedim of every beit-sefer go
forth into the hills and valleys to
plant aitzim.
In 1949, the first Tu B'Shevat
after Milchemet-Ha'atzmaut, the
first Tu B'Shevat in our newly
created Medinat Yisrael, I joined
my horim and many other yeladim
and mevugarim, on a very
touching, impressive and emotional
n'seeah to plant aitzim in a new
ya'ar on harey Yerushalayim. This
ya'ar, called ya'ar-Hak'doshim, was
planted. Le'zecher ha-kdoshim, the
six million Jews who were killed by
the Nazis during the shoah. Today
this ya'ar contains six million
aitzim. My saba and savta, my
mother's horim, and her eight
achim and achayot, were among
those k'doshim in whose memory
the ya'ar was planted.
L - 10
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 1991
Although I was very young at
the time, that Tu B'Shevat left an
indelible roshem on . me. I clearly
remember the somber aveera, the
stifled crying, the tekes on the har,
the t'feelot, the Yizkor, and the sad
music.
Then kol shanah, on Tu
B'Shevat, we used to go together to
ya'ar Hak'doshim, along the
k'veesh to Yerushalayim, to plant
more aitzim.
Since then, Tu B'Shevat has
always brought back to me the
zikaron of that first Tu B'Shevat and
the painful thoughts about the
grandparents I never met.
Meelon (Dictionary)
holiday
letters (plural)
name
winter
rains
rain
trees
a tree
chag
otee yot
shem
choref
g'shamim
geshem
aitzim
etz
life
chayim
new (plural)
chadashim
new (singular)
chadash
love
ahava
climate
aklim
hot
cham
a tree
etz, illan
fruit
pree
houses (plural)
batim
a house (singular)
bayit
paper
n'yar
books (plural)
s'farim
a book (singular)
sefer
tzel
shade
sun
shemesh
beauty
yoffi noy
world
olam
soil
karka
memories
zichzonot
memory
zikaron
plantings
n'teeot
students (plural)
talmeedim
a student (singular)
talmid
school
beit-sefer
Medinat Yisrael The State of Israel
parents
horim
forest
ya'ar
calendar
luach
grandfather
saba
grandmother
savta
Milchemat Ha'atzma'ut ....The War
of Independence
children
yeladim
a child
yeled
adults
mevugarim
an adult
mevugar
a trip
n'seeah
harey-Yerushalayim ..The Mountains
of Jerusalem
le'zecher
Ha'k'doshim
The Shoah
achim
ach
achayot
achot
roshem
aveera
tekes
har
t'feelot
Yizkor
kol shanah
k'veesh
zikaron
Puzzle Answers From Page L-4
Dear David,
Start at the modern airport
where most visitors land,
on an airstrip in Israel
not In the desert sand.
Travel in the direction
Jews face when they pray,
It's the capital of Israel
where you will first stay.
Continue on your travels
to the lowest point around,
don't drink the salty water
where not a living thing is found.
Pass Herod's famous fortress
on a mountain top it stands,
Jewish Zealots fought and died there
not to fall In Roman hands.
Go south through the desert
to a 3,000 year old port,
the city now has snorkeling
and your favorite beach resort.
Back up through the country
to a town by the sea,
the industrial center of Israel
and the second largest city.
Travel along the shore
going north all the way,
to a city on Mt. Carmel
looks like San Francisco Bay!
The city of Tiberias
is west of where you've come
This lake of sparkling waters
is where swimming can be fun.
Put all the letters together
unscramble each and every clue,
to find the hidden place
where the tree is planted for you!
Love Max
2. 3
41 5
(i• 7
I ?
in memory of
the holy people
The Holocaust
brothers
brother
sisters
a sister
impression
atmosphere
a ceremony
a mountain
prayers
the memorial prayer
every year
a road
memory