Page 6 - HaMizrachi TuBiShvat 5784 North America

Tu BiShvat

Stephen M. Flatow

s newlyweds living in Canar- with yearly tithing of fruits in the Land become breeding grounds for those who
sie, Brooklyn, my wife Rosa- of Israel. Sefer Vayikra prohibits the eating espouse the “oldest hatred.”
lyn took it upon herself to do and tithing of orla, the fruit of trees pro-
Asome shopping for our first duced during the first three years after We at the Religious Zionists of Ameri-
Tu BiShvat together and came home with they are planted. Tu BiShvat became the ca-Mizrachi say, “enough is enough.” Our
bokser – carob. What a way to celebrate a cut-off date for a tree’s age: if the fruit of mission is to counter the forces of Jew-ha-
holiday, I thought, by trying to eat some- a three-year-old tree ripened before the tred at work today by demonstrating to
thing inedible. In future years, I would 15th, it was forbidden. American Jewry, and especially our high
take a pass on eating bokser; Israeli oranges school and college students, that Religious
are better. As with all things, the holiday has Zionism is as relevant and important today
picked up a more modern significance. as it was when our organization was estab-
Our holidays tend to commemorate and It’s become, for some, a day of ecological
celebrate one thing or another. Purim, lished in 1913. There was no State of Israel
conquest over Haman and his allies, Cha- awareness and an appreciation of nature – the first flowering of the redemption –
nukah, conquest over the Greek army around us. Who has seen an almond when the RZA was established. Times for
and Jewish Hellenizers, Yom HaAtzmaut, blossom or smelled a lemon blossom and Jews were perilous then and more so in
conquest over invading Arab armies. Cel- not come away with a sense of awe and the decades that followed. We face perils,
ebrating those days gave rise to the adage, wonder for Hashem’s creations? again, but with our collective efforts in
“they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.” But frankly, as I write this, I am having a support of Israel, we will demonstrate Am
And then there are days where we have no difficult time waxing poetic about trees Yisrael Chai, the Jewish people live.
appetite. Tisha B’Av comes to mind. Com- and fruits. There are over 100 Jews in cap-
memoration, yes; celebration, no. tivity in Gaza under the control of Hamas.
Each day, the news brings us the names
And here we are with Tu BiShvat named
after the calendar date on which it falls of IDF soldiers who have died defending
but which is also called Rosh Hashanah Israel and, in my view, Jews around the
la’ilanot, the New Year of the Trees (the world.
Talmud records a dispute between Sham- Streets in the United States and in world
mai and Hillel as to when to celebrate the capitals are brimming with Jew-hatred.
holiday. If Shammai had his way, we’d be The presidents of three Ivy League schools
celebrating this new year on the 1st of the couldn’t muster the intellectual or moral
month, but, as in their other disputes with courage to say that calling for the genocide
Hillel, he “lost,” and it became the 15th). of Jews violates college policies. It depends Stephen M. Flatow
is President of the
In the days of the Holy Temples, Tu BiShvat on the “context,” we are told. Instead of Religious Zionists of America-Mizrachi.
was important because of its connection institutions of higher learning, they’ve

6 |