Jane Zalben

Jan 22, 2024 | jewishbookcouncil.org | Jane Zalben |Yevgenia Nayberg

In the Bible, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowl­edge were plant­ed in the Gar­den of Eden. (Gen­e­sis 2: 9)Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of Trees, falls dur­ing win­ter, often in late Jan­u­ary or ear­ly Feb­ru­ary, when trees form buds. In Jew­ish cus­tom, a tree is plant­ed when a baby is born. Both are cared for as they grow. The branch­es of a tree can be used as poles to hold up a chup­pa (canopy) under which the grown child is mar­ried. This con­tin­ues the cycle of life.