Tree of Life:
Adding Branches
New Americans gather to celebrate a
Tu B'Shevat seder with JEFF.
RUTH UTTMANN STAFF WRITER
Alla Cherkasskay wears the
"Family Tree Crown" she
colored.
Above, Tanya Pasater and
daughter Michelle feast on
Tu B'Shevat fruits.
Left, Ilya Morkis had fun at
the JEFF seder.
hy is this seder dif-
ferent from all oth-
er seders?
At this seder,
Jews celebrate the
holiday Tu B'She-
vat, birthday of
trees.
"Many people
know what Tu
B'Shevat is, but
many people do not know about
a Tu B'Shevat seder," said El-
lie Slovis, a program coordina-
tor for Jewish Experiences For
Families (JEFF).
On Sunday, JEFF sponsored
a Tu. B'Shevat seder for new
American children and their
families at the Oak Park Jew-
ish Community Center.
"Jews plant trees for future
generations, and what we are
doing here today, by bringing
our families together to learn
about Tu B'Shevat, is plant-
ing trees in our children," Ms.
Slovis said.
JEFF's new American pro-
gramming is designed to accul-
turate Russians by teaching
them about Jewish holidays
and customs. Toward that end,
the Tu B'Shevat seder featured
an "appetizer" of arts-and-crafts
activities.
Polina Arsentyeva, 8, and
Ella Murkis, 10, decorated bird
feeders made of cardboard
bowls and string. Kathy
Ternyaeva, 11, painted a flower
pot into which she planted pars-
ley seeds for the upcoming
Passover seder.
"The children will eat their
own parsley," said Gennadiy
Kuperman, an adult volunteer.
. Inna Volvovskaya, an 11-
year-old volunteer, helped
younger Russians color family
trees. The children had to write
their parents' and siblings'
names in English. Nearby,
Americans Amy Rosenberg, 14,
and Dan Monkrnan, 15, offered
emigre children a lesson in en-
vironmentalism by recycling
newspapers.
During the seder, nearly 70
people sat at tables bedecked
with fruits and flowers. Many
Americans — much less Rus-
sians — have never heard of a
Tu B'Shevat seder, even though
it dates back to the 16th centu-
ry. The Tu B'Shevat seder was
created by Kabbalists, a group
of Jewish mystics in Israel who
wanted to honor trees and the
miracle of nature.
At a Tu. B'Shevat seder, Jews
drink four cups of wine — just
as they do on Passover. But the
symbolism is different.
According to JEFF's Tu
B'Shevat Haggadah the first
cup is filled with white wine (or
juice), reminding Jews of the
barren, snow-covered season of
winter. The second cup is a mix
of red and white wine. It sym-
"We're planting
trees in our
children."
Ellie Slovis
bolizes spring, when Israel's
landscape changes colors.
The third cup, representing
summer, is more sanguine,
filled with red wine and a dash
of white. The fourth cup is all
red.
"Summer ends, the trees are
filled with blossoming flowers,
and the crops are growing
tall...Autumn (is) the season of
the harvest," reads the Tu
B'Shevat Haggadah.
Tu B'Shevat tables are set
with four seder plates. The first
plate has fruits with inedible
shells or peels, like tangerines,
kiwi, oranges, peanuts and al-
monds. Fruits from the second
plate include peaches, dates,
olives, avocados all with
inedible pits.
The third plate includes
fruits that can be eaten whole,
like grapes, raisins, pears and
strawberries. And the last plate
contains seeds to be planted for
future sedarirn.