WORDS OF WISDOM

THE TORAH IS THE TREE OF LIFE TO THOSE WHO HOLD FAST TO IT....

GOD gave us the Torah.  God made trees.  The trees provide for us.  The Torah gives us commandments to follow.  Trees give us air, food, and shelter.  The trees have roots to hold it in the ground.  People have family to provide for them.  The Torah gives us Jewish rules. 

The Torah is the Tree of Life because if there is no trees there will be no people because trees give us oxygen.  If there is no Torah there will not be Jews anymore because the Torah is about being Jewish. 

If there was no Torah, then there would be no Jews.  The Torah is a big part of us.

The Tree of Life is the Torah.  We would not exist without oxygen.  We would not exist if there wasn’t the Torah.  We are connected the Torah like we are connected to the Trees.

The Jewish people need the Torah, they don’t need anything else.  

Without the Torah, they will not exist. 

We are like the trees.  We need the same things as the trees.  The Torah is the Jewish people’s roots.  Just like the tree has roots that hold to steady. 

The Torah gives us boundaries.  The Torah holds us all together. 

Without the Torah we wouldn’t know how to be Jewish. 

TORAH IS THE TREE OF LIFE

This week we began talking about our responsibility to care for everything GOD created. We talked about GOD commanding us to rule over everything and to also be a partner with GOD. Students were asked to identify ways they ruled over all living things, and how they were also servants. We talked about planting trees and flowers for our enjoyment, and our commitment to care for these living things once they are planted. We compared trees to the Torah, and students were asked to find ways to support the idea that the Torah was a Tree of Life. Students compared trees to people, as trees and people need the same things to live. Ultimately, our relationship with the trees is much like our relationship with the Torah. We can't live without the trees, trees can't live with people, and the the Jewish people cannot live without the Torah.

To bring our point a bit closer to home, we learned GOD intended for us to care for trees much like a parent cares for a child. We talked about what is expected of us as babies, and our responsibilities as children and young adults. Specifically, we learned that not everything we want is ours to do with as we please, and we often do things for the good of the greater community. Finally, after much debate, we learned that our roots are our family, and the values our family teaches us, help us build our relationship with GOD. 

On Tuesday afternoon, our Values and Ethics rotation took this discussion in another direction, and we began to explore the differences between nature and nurture. We talked about the moral and ethical dilemmas we face in our everyday life. We had a lively discussion about laws to protect personal property and the laws created for the good of the community. Ultimately, we learned that GOD commands us to work on building a relationship with our community and with GOD, by doing mitzvot. 

A TU B' SHEVAT SEDER

WOW!  Your candlesticks are beautiful.  Thank you to the families who participated in our Shabbat Family Program. We are excited to see the finished product.  

This week we celebrated the birthday of the trees, Tu B'Shevat.  Although not a Torah based holiday, there is plenty to learn from the Torah about how we take care of the trees, nature, and all of GOD's creations.  We learned about the seven species of fruits specifically mentioned in the Torah, and how in ancient times our Rabbi's taught us to celebrate life through nature.   We talked about the cycle of life, and how in each season we are responsible for caring for the earth in different ways.  We compared the different types of fruits to the types of Torah scholars, and some of us had fun tasting a variety of the fruits found on trees that grow in Israel, and mixing wine to represent the seasons at our Tu B' Shevat Seder.   Please ask your students to share their ideas about why GOD created people with the same needs as the trees.  Interesting, very interesting!  

Our discussion continues Sunday as we dig deeper into the idea of repairing the world, and specifically, the commandment to not destroy creation.  Stay tuned.