February 2012 Sunday School News
from Education Director Dawn Friedman

While we think of the fall and early winter as a time densely packed with holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, and Hanukkah—not to mention Halloween and Thanksgiving!), we have no shortage of events after winter break. Just take a look at the many programs this month and next, open to all families whether or not you have students in our Sunday School.

On Sunday, February 5, we will celebrate Tu B’Shevat with a seder at DHS at 10:30, after regular classes. Tu B’Shevat is the new year for trees, the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the land of Israel emerge from winter and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. It was a tithing holiday that fell into obscurity after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, was resurrected by the early Kabbalists as a celebration of rebirth in the spring, and has been reinvigorated since the creation of the state of Israel and the rise of environmentalism. It’s become a Jewish Earth Day. Traditionally, we eat all kinds of tree fruits, especially those that grow in Israel, and we celebrate the coming of spring (eventually!) I hope you can join us.

 

 

B'shalom (in peace),

Dawn Friedman, Youth Education Director