FamiLY Fun
••• ■ •• ■ •
ZA\
cep ebrating
the holiday as a family.
Iceas for
aft
Elizabeth ApplebqUin
AppleTree Editor
r
Challenge family members to
come up with''ersalad,that-iss both
tasty (that's the key word; let's. be
honest: do you really want to
I blend olives and apples?) and
makes use of fruits and nuts that
I grow on trees in Israel.
It
Look in the encyclopedia to
learn a little more about one of the
more exotic trees mentioned in the
Tanach. A few ideas: Chinese cin-
namon (Exodus 30:24), acacia
(Exodus 26:25), wild jujube (Job
40:21 22), storax (Genesis
30:37) or terebith (Genesis 35:4).
-
Go green for your Tu b'She-
vat dinner. Use green plates,
green napkins (cloth ones, not
paper of course — you don't
want to have profited from
destroyed trees on this day, do
you?) and a green tablecloth.
I Add decorations, such as tiny
plastic trees from craft shops, or
ones your children make from
I paper-towel holders.
According to Jewish tradition,
the Behemoth (a mystical creature
I said to be so large it could swal-
r
low the whole Jordan River) loved
the willow tree While most mod-
Inscholacvbelieve the Behemoth
was in fact a hippo, here's a
great opportunity to use your
imagination. Have everyone in
the family . draw a picture of his o
her version of the Behemoth rest
ing under a willow
Create leaf pictures. First,
take children on a walk throUgh
your favorite nature center or
through th6,:ne.ighborhood and
find interesting leaves. Dry and
press these for a day or two by
placing each leaf on :paper
between heav
'"Make into
pictures.
Have a Tu b'Shevat pcirty and
According to legend, the
ask guests to bring a favorite filmy
rnegranate (a fruit native to
book, poem or story that features
1Srael) contains the same number
a tree. Some ideas: The Giving
of seeds as there are mitzvot
Tree, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
613. Now you may find the idea
and yes, it must be considered,
of actually counting all those
that maudlin but much-loVed
:seeds fairly insufferable, but
poem, "I Think That I Shall Never :::chances are good that your child
See, a Poem Lovely As a Tree."
I...(aged 6-10) would actually enjoy
.it.
Ask children to create their
very own tree. How big would it
Learn about the tree in your
be? What would grow on it —
eery own back yard. What kind
flowers, fruits or something com-
it? About how old is it? Have
pletely new? (Consider CD-ROMS
been giving it the care it
or bubble gum.)
d6:,erves, such as regular prun-
:
,
le
5t
Select one fruit that grows on
a tree in Israel and ask everyone
to telkdfrinteresting fact about it.
Come up with 10 ways you and
your family can recycle more card-
board and paper in the coming
year, to save the lives of a few trees.
ingV,
5
a e,:ypufown in-home nest
or tree house. for the nest, pull a
bunch of blankets together in a
circle. You can even have a pic-
nic in there, and gather pillows
and sleep together. For the tree
house, find some old boxes and
1
build away, or sit it atop your
t
obild's
indoor slide.
.
Try to make a complete meal
using only the seven species of
fruits that grow in Israel. Those
specifically mentioned in Devarim
are wheat, barley, figs, grapes,
dates, olives and pomegranates.
It
Numerous Jewish texts
describe man as like a tree, and
the Jewish people as like an oak.
What similarities do you see
between people and trees?
It
Come to dinner in a tree-like
costume. Wear brown pants or a
skirt (that's the tree trunk), a green
top and something else fun to
wear (like apple earrings, or a
crown of dates) to distinguish your
species.
Make snowflake trees. Create
treetop designs the same way you
once made snowflakes, by fold-
ing paper and cutting and fold-
ing, then cutting again. Make
trees out of green paper for a
realistic design; use brown con-
struction paper to make the trunk.
Decorate with markers to com-
plete. ❑
1/21
2000
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