עמוד:34

This Month in Our Community Apples and Dates Tu B’Shvat at Magen David School Last Sunday was an unusual day at the Magen David Hebrew School located in our community synagogue . In spite of the cold and rainy weather , the students rushed to school and congregated in the synagogue hall where , instead of taking out books from their backpacks , they took out baskets of fresh and dried fruit to celebrate Tu B’Shvat , the “ new year” for trees , with a Tu B’Shvat seder . Some even brought fruit from Israel . During the seder , the students ate fruit and drank grape juice , sang holiday songs and Israeli songs , and participated in a quiz . In case you ’ re curious about the quiz questions , here are a few examples : What is the connection between the almond tree and Tu B’Shvat ? What are the seven species with which Israel has been blessed ? The competition was close between the fifth and sixth graders , but the winner was determined by a bonus question : In Israel , in addition to eating fruit , how else is Tu B’Shvat marked ? The sixth graders knew the answer tree planting and won the competition . In an interview following the Tu B’Shvat seder , Ms . Cohen , the school principle said : “ In fact , everyone is a They come here with many questions : Why am I different from the other students ? Why do we celebrate different holidays ? Why do they celebrate Christmas but we don’t ? Why are my parents so interested in what happens in Israel ? winner because we all got to learn about this lovely tradition . During the week , our students study in public schools and are often the only Jews in their classes . It isn ’ t easy for them to come here on Sunday , a day off for the rest of their classmates . They come here with many questions : Why am I different from the other students ? Why do we celebrate different holidays ? Why do they celebrate Christmas but we don ’ t ? Why are my parents so interested in what happens in Israel ? Here in the Hebrew School , we try to address these questions , as they learn about their cultural and family roots and meet other Jewish children with similar backgrounds . They discover that being Jewish does not only mean being different , but also means belonging to a community and to a people . ” Tzedaka – – charity

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