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KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAE
President's Column
by Eli A. Scherr
ike many gifts of nature, trees are often taken for granted. However, there is a special relationship be-
tween God, man and the earth. Man must work the earth to partake of its fruit being ever mindful that it
is God's earth on which we work. This obligates us to act morally toward both nature and our fellow man.
To commemorate the importance of this relationship, a day was designated as Rosh hashanah La'ilanot, the "New Year of the
trees." This day is the 15th of the month of Sheuat or Tu B'Shevat.
Throughout generations in the diaspora the fruit of Eretz Yisraelwas eaten on Tu B'Shevat as the only reminder of the days when
our ancestors dwelled in their homeland. Today we have more thanjust the fruit of Eretz Yisrael- we have the living restoration of
our ancestral home; but we cannot forget that even though the State of Israel has been restored, much of its land still remains bar-
ren.
The land which is now Israel was not always desert. We learn from several Biblical references that ancient Israel was a verdant
agrarian society. Natural forests grew everywhere. However, when enemies forced Jews out of their homeland, the landscape suf-
fered from neglect. Trees were uprooted and crops were destroyed. As a result erosion turned the once fertile soil into sand or
swamp.
Through the work of the Jewish National Fund, especially in afforestation, much land has been reclaimed. It is the JNF which has
revitalized Tu BShemt and given the opportunity to young and old in Israel to commemorate the day by going into the barren hills
and sandy desert and planting saplings with their own hands. As these saplings grow into trees, we can always celebrate their birth-
days on Rosh Hashanah Lailanot.
As I have pointed out before, The Jewish National Fund is more than planting trees; it is more than turning sand into land. The
work of the JNF can be compared to a great and beautiful love affair — that of the Jewish people for its homeland. It will never end
because it is a living relationship between both of them.
The challenges facing us in what we all hope will be a period of peace make the role of the JNF even greater than heretofore. To
establish peace means to continue redeeming and rebuilding the land of Israel. The Negev represents 60% of the area of Israel. It
is important to settle and cultivate it. The need to build dams and other projects to assure the life-giving water resources for a grow-
ing population is most crucial. As we have in the course of decades learned to respond to crises, so must we be ready to respond to
the demands of peace.
I hope that each and every one of you will fulfill the mitzvah of Tu B'Shevat by supporting the Jewish National Fund and its his-
toric mission. You can show your support by calling the Jewish National Fund office with your donation to plant trees in Israel.
May we all live to see peace embrace the Land of Israel, the Jewish people, and the whole world.
FRO
IEINISH
11A71011AL
FWD
fu B'Shevat
Schedule
Thursday, January 13th — Ed-
ward Rosenthal, Regional Di-
rector of JNF, to speak at Akiva
Hebrew Day School. -
Sunday, January 23rd, 2:00 PM
— Intergenerational Concert fea-
turing Ron Coden and Josh
White Jr., at JCC, Maple/Drake
Bldg., Shiffman Hall. Co-spon-
sored by JNF, The Jewish Com-
munity Center, HomeHealth
Exchange and The Jewish News.
Public invited free of charge.
Wednesday, January 26th,
12:45 PM —Edward Rosenthal to
speak to new Americans at JCC,
Ten Mile, Oak Park Branch.
Thursday, January 27th, 7:30
PM —An Evening with U. Col. Gil
Elan at Cong. B'nai Moshe, 6800
Drake Rd., West Bloomfield. Lt.
Col. Elan will update us on: Mid-
dle East Peace Talks; Israel's Se-
curity and the Hezbollah, and
Israel's Ecological Challenges.
Sponsored by the young Leader-
ship of JNF. There is no charge
and the public is invited.
Sunday, January 30th, 1:00 PM
— Ed Rosenthal to speak at the
Labor Zionist Alliance Meeting
on the Environment in Israel. To
be held at Morris Lieberman
Hall, 25900 Greenfield Rd., Oak
Park.
Attention Young
Leadership!!!!!
Watch for details on the up-
coming Night at Mark Ridley's
Comedy Castle in April
17100 West
10 Mile Road
Southfield, MI
48075
Phone 557-6644
FAX (313) 557-2412
U. Cal. Gil Elan
WILLIAM BRUCH; Family of
MIRIAM GAYLE MENCZER;
Family and Friends of RUTH
and LESTER KAPLAN; EVA and
ZOLTAN REMENY & RENEE
and JOHN REMENY; MELVIN
KEPES.
Golden Book
Subscribers As Of
January 12,1994:
Golden Book subscribers help
the JNF continue land reclama-
tion in Israel. We salute the fol-
lowing contributors of Golden
Books as of January 12, 1994:
DAVID and DOREEN HER-
MELIN; MANNY and SANDY,
MICHAEL and _ ZACHARY
GLAZIER; Family of BUNNY
and LEONARD SEIDMAN; IDA
and JACK SCHWARTZ & Fam-
ilY.
Garden Donors
Enrolled As Of
January 12, 1994
Marilyn Frumkir
Memorial Grove
Established
We acknowledge with sincere
appreciation the following gar-
den donors who enrolled in the
Michigan Garden Club as ofJan-
uary 12, 1994:
Family of EST'ELLE & PHILIP
ELKUS; Family of ZACHARY
Sidney Frumkin of West
Bloomfield, along with Family
and Friends, has established a
Grove of 1,000 Trees in memory
of his beloved wife, Marilyn.
These trees will be a part of the
American Independence Park
outside the city ofJerusalem and
will be a living memorial to Mar-
ilyn Frumkin. Our gratitude to
Mr. Frumkin. May he know of no
more sorrow.
Epstein's Grove
Announced
Mr. and Mrs. Abram Epstein
of Franklin, Michigan, and
Scottsdale, Arizona, have estab-
lished The Abram and Joyce Ep-
stein Family Grove of 1,000
Trees to be located in the Amer-
ican Independence Park near
Jerusalem. On behalf of the JNF
and the people of Israel, we
thank The Epsteins for their
generous support
"Of Blessed
Memory"
We mourn the loss of:
GOLDIE ABRAM, LILLIAN
KENT, MATILDA LUBIN,
DOROTHYMILEN, MAX PAR-
TRICH, LEONARD PEREIRA,
SALTZMAN,
SADELLE
SCHNEIDER,
SHIRLEY
JULIUS SILVERMAN, THEL-
MA SIMON, LENA SINAI,
ANNA SLOMOVITZ, ALBERT
SUGAR.