Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor

E

very year around Tu b'Shevat,
the New Year for Trees, which
this year falls on Feb. 8, I wax
sentimental about my younger days
growing up in Dallas.
My family belonged to Congregation
Tiferet Israel, a Traditional (read
"Conservadox") synagogue that I
never completely understood. In the
sanctuary, there is a men's section on
the right, a women's section on the
left and a mixed seating section in the
middle. Most everyone I knew sat in
the middle.

My synagogue
was traditional in
more traditional
ways, too. At
Purim, we always
had a carnival full
of games, gifts
and the inevitable
goldfish bowl
toss. Somehow,
the volunteers
always made sure
every kid won at
least one goldfish,
carefully scooped
into a plastic bag
with plenty of
A wimpy sapling
water. My goldfish
finally blossomed
always survived
into a mighty oak.
the trip home,
sloshing merrily
in the car. Then,
after a few days, it inevitably died. A
lesson in-mortality, for sure.
I always looked forward to Tu
b'Shevat, too. At shul, we learned about
the vast Jewish National Fund forests
thriving in Israel. Our teachers sent
home JNF blue boxes for us to fill
and return, which we did dutifully.
Sometimes we purchased trees and
were told each one was being planted
with love in the Jewish homeland.
But I always looked forward to the
special Tu b'Shevat treat they started
passing out when I was about 11 or
12 — small oak saplings that we could
plant and nurture in our own yards. I
planted a few of them, trying various

CONTENTS

Feb. 2-Feb. 8, 2012 I 9-15 Shevat 5772

Around Town
Arts/Entertainment
Calendar
Food
Letters
Life Cycles
Marketplace
Metro
Next Generation
Obituaries

24
33
21
43
5
41
44
8
26
49

JEWISHNEWS.com

28
32
6
30
31

40
28

Shabbat Lights and Holiday

Shabbat: Friday, Feb. 3, 5:30 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Feb. 4, 6:34 p.m.

Tu b'Shevat: Wednesday, Feb. 8

Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Feb.11, 6:43 p.m.

Times are according to the Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah calendar.

On The Cover:

Page design, Deborah Schultz

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The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that's useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to
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daughters' creative interests. The
Jacobs family traveled all over to
participate in robotics competitions
and attend LEGO° conventions. "In
those large exhibition spaces,
there were just so many children
like mine," said Sarah. "I had to
wonder why we were going so far
away to experience this."
With the help of their daughters,
the pair honed their idea for a local
space dedicated to building and
creativity. They came to Hebrew Free
Loan when their plans to launch The
Robot Garage were fully mature,
but they still lacked some of the
funding. With the help of what is
now called the Marvin I. Danto

Small Business Loan Program,

the Jacobs family opened The
Robot Garage this past June. It is now
a popular destination for classes,
camps, daily drop-in sessions and
birthday parties. They also have a
retail shop, and employ more than
20 local residents who also love
building and exploring.

Join HFL Sunday, February 12
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
for a fun family experier,r,

A FAMILY EVENT

Shabbat: Friday, Feb. 10, 5:39 p.m.

Columnists

Like many parents, Sarah and
Jonathan Jacobs nourished their

community-

Vol. CXL, No. 26

Points Of View
Sports
Staff Box/Phone List
Synagogue List
Torah Portion

Danny Raskin
Robert Sklar

spots to get the best sunlight and rain.
Failure. Then one year I planted my
little sapling in a bare spot to the right
of our garage. It grew sparingly, but
hung in there.
I'm sure I forgot about the little tree
as I moved on into high school and
then college at the University of Texas
at Austin. Oh, I'd check on it some, and
send it good thoughts, but it certainly
wasn't turning into a mighty oak, which
are so prevalent in Texas.
Then came the ice storm of 1978 that
ravaged north Texas and parts of sur-
rounding states. My family was from
Milwaukee, so my parents had a clue,
but Texans in general were paralyzed.
Power lines were down, transformers
blew and ice-laden tree were coming
down under the extra weight. I remem-
ber my grandparents were visiting
from Milwaukee and they slept in the
den near the fireplace, our only source
of heat.
Though mortals did not cope well
with the ice storm, my little oak tree
loved it. After that season, the tree had
a continued growth spurt. My mother
remembers being amazed at how it
took off.
In recent years, when I return home,
I never fail to check out the little tree
that could. Now it eclipses the garage.
Its limbs need regular trimming to
keep them off the roof and out of the
neighbor's yard. That spreading oak
reminds me of the magic of Tu b'Shevat
and the beauty of a single tree planted
lovingly by a child. ❑

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134) ;ix

at The Robot Garage in Birmingham
To register, go to www.hfldetroit.org

Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-free
loans to members of our community
for a variety of personal and small
business needs. Loans are funded
entirely through community donations
which continually recycle to others,
generating many times the original
value.

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February 2 2012

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