There is a legend in my family, I think it was about my great-grandfather. He was on a hike and I guess it went on a little too long. Legend has it that he said, “One tree and another tree…I’m meese and moose with trees!” Now, when anything gets to be too much, we say, “...I’m meese and moose!!” But this is not a reflection on things being “too much,” rather this is about trees.

I am thinking about this because Tu B’Shvat, the New Year of the Trees, is happening on February 6th this year. While there is significance to this day regarding the tithing of produce, its significance for us today revolves around sustainability, environmentalism, or the climate. In Israel, it’s customary to plant trees on this day. The snow may be falling in Maine, but the sap is just beginning to run in Israel, so maybe Tu B’Shevat offers us the opportunity to look towards spring, and growth, and re-birth. But back to trees. 

In 2016 Peter Wohlleben published his book, The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. In this book, he speaks convincingly about how trees protect their young, share the sunlight with other trees, and act as a community. “Forest trees,” writes Richard Grant in Smithsonian magazine, “have evolved to live in cooperative, interdependent relationships, maintained by communication and a collective intelligence similar to an insect colony.” I’m sure that we humans have a lot to learn from the natural world, if only we would listen. 

Last year, we purchased a package suggested by our passionate climate activist, Lorin Troderman. It is a story told on laminated posters called Wise Friends. The story is simple, each tree in the story has Jewish roots and teaches an important lesson. The Cedar tree teaches us to be strong, “bBe as strong as my trunk. If you do, you will thrive.” The Fig tree teaches us to be kind, “Like my roots, softness can break through the hardest stone.” Ironically, the story is meant to be read outside, under the trees. Here in Maine, with the snow falling, we will wander through the pages in the Sanctuary, in the comfort of the Etz Chayim, the Tree of Life, that lives in the Ark. It will be up for 2 weeks, from January 28 - February 12. Please feel free to visit any time. I want to encourage you to sit with the story, to place yourself in Nature, to appreciate the New Year of the Trees, and to ponder what needs to happen in order for us to sustain the ecological balance of the world. 

Happy, early, Tu B’Shvat.

Rabbi