Tu Bishvat and Tree Planting in the Talpiot Neighborhood, 1925.
Another “Once Upon a Time in Jerusalem”.
Tu Bishvat is the New Year for Trees in the Land of Israel.
It holds significance for agricultural mitzvot dependent on the land, which can only be observed in Israel. It is the date that distinguishes between the fruits of the new year and those of the previous year.
When the Jewish people were dispersed across the diaspora and the four corners of the world, Tu Bishvat was only symbolically observed.
Those who were meticulous in their observance would eat dried fruits grown in the Land of Israel—the only way to preserve them during the long journey to exile.
With the renewal of the Zionist enterprise and the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, Tu Bishvat became a symbol of the revival of Jewish settlement in the Holy Land.
The tradition of tree planting was renewed, symbolizing the reclamation of the land of Israel.
In a photograph from 1925, residents of the Talpiot neighborhood can be seen carrying out the tradition of planting trees in the Land of Israel.
The first houses built in the neighborhood stand in the background, with the homes of the Baka neighborhood visible behind them.
The elegantly dressed women in the photograph wear dresses and wide-brimmed hats, holding umbrellas to shield themselves from the scorching sun of the land. Alongside them, men in formal suits set out to conquer the rocky terrain surrounding the neighborhood.
Talpiot was designed as a garden city and at the time was not yet considered part of Jerusalem’s municipal area. It featured private homes and green gardens.
Among its distinguished residents were the Nobel Prize-winning author Shmuel Yosef Agnon, the poet Avraham Ben-Yitzhak (Abraham Sonne), historian Joseph Klausner, and many more.
The connection between man and land is fundamental from the earliest of days—”From dust we came, and to dust we shall return.”
So too is the connection between man and tree—”For man is like the tree of the field.”
As the poet Nathan Zach put it, from the Tree of Knowledge of Adam to the tree that strives upwards.
This year, Tu Bishvat carries even deeper meanings.
Since the storm of October 7th erupted, we have understood how crucial a tree’s roots are.
If they are deep and strong enough, they will withstand any storm.
If a tree has deep roots that strive to anchor further into the heart of the land, it will grow and develop more and more branches, year after year.
If some branches are cut off, the tree will know how to sprout new, stronger branches from the point of severance.
Even if the branches grow tangled among themselves instead of shielding against external storms, even if they hinder a unified and orderly growth, they all remain connected to the same trunk, drawing from the same roots. They are all branches and fruits of the same tree.
Even if pests attack the tree while it is still deeply rooted and nourished by living waters, they will only be able to inflict partial and temporary harm. With time, the tree will heal itself by its own strength.
But if we water the roots with polluted and toxic water, or if we sever the tree and it’s roots from the land, its size, its age, and the glorious fruits it bore over the years will no longer matter.
The tree will wither and slowly perish. What storms, gales, and pests failed to destroy will happen naturally—from the tree’s own disconnection from its roots.
May we merit to preserve and strengthen our roots, to nourish the tree with good and sweet waters, and to ensure that its branches, all drawing from the same roots, grow upwards—stronger and bearing even better fruit—until the treetop reaches the heavens.
Shabbat Shalom to all those far and near from Jerusalem.
May all the hostages return swiftly to their homes, together with the soldiers of the IDF.
And may the chosen, fruit-laden branches that were tragically cut down inspire the growth of new, strong branches. May we deepen our roots, nourish them with good waters, and ensure that all branches grow only side by side.
Photo Source: The Zionist Archives.
