Shabbat Shalom ~ Yitro 2025

Dear WJC Family,

As I write this, it is Thursday, Tu B’Shvat, the New Year of the Trees. The holiday has had many meanings from the days of the Temple until today. Originally it was the date from which one would measure “the first fruits,” the first produce yielded in a growing season, which a person was required to bring to the Temple. Since the destruction of the Temple, though, the holiday has taken on mystical significance, environmental meanings, and a special status for the early Zionists attempting to make the Land of Israel grow once again. Tu B’Shvat, it turns out, is almost as adaptable as the Jewish people who have found a way to celebrate it in so many ways under such varying circumstances.

There is one really meaningful project I saw related to the holiday that I want to share with you all. As you may recall, in the fall we hosted Rabbi Ed Rosenthal from “Tikkun HaYam – Repair the Sea.” Tikkun HaYam is a Jewish non-profit dedicated to the health of the world’s oceans. Among other projects, they are the creators of the “Reverse Tashlich” program we have run for the last couple of years. In honor of Tu B’Shvat Tikkun HaYam is bringing attention to mangrove forests, which are one of the key components to a healthy marine ecosystem. Mangroves are saltwater rooted trees that line the coast, providing habitat to millions of animals and sequestering carbon. Some 50% of mangroves have been lost. For Tu B’Shvat, Tikkun HaYam encourages you to plant a mangrove tree. Just a $36 donation can plant a mangrove, click here to learn how to participate.

This Monday is President’s Day (note that morning minyan will start at 8:30), and as folks head off for February Break and start thinking about the spring, I wanted to highlight a few dates to keep in mind and to put on your calendar. First off, Tu B’Shevat means we are exactly one month from Purim! We have all kinds of wonderful Purim events scheduled, kicking off with the Purim Carnival on Sunday March 9th and culminating with the Purim Spiel on Sunday March 16th. In between is  Purim holiday day itself with Megillah reading on Thursday night and a Purim Seudah on Friday. For all of the details and to register for the parts that require it, click here.

In addition to the Purim celebrations, we have a number of other special programs in March. On the evening of March 12th, I will be in conversation with Ken Stern, in a “Beyond the Bimah” program entitled, “ Hate, Memory, Binary Thinking, and the Future of Democracy.” Ken served the AJC for decades as a leading expert in Antisemitism. He was one of the authors of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of Antisemitism, though he wishes it were used in a more nuanced way since its publication. He currently serves as the director of the Bard College Center for the Study of Hate. We will be discussing the current state of Antisemitism in America, its greater impact on the country as a whole, and what we might do to address it more effectively.

And after all of that, on March 28th – March 30th, we have our much-anticipated Scholar in Residence weekend with journalist Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer, authors of the new book, It Takes Two to Torah. To check out the whole schedule, sign up for sessions, and/or sign up to support and sponsor the weekend, click here.

All that and a beautiful Shabbat coming to boot.

See you in shul,

RJA