How glorious our summer, with the beauty of our beaches, parks and gardens. This is a time to celebrate our place in nature, our environment, highlighted in the Jewish calendar.
Thousands of years ago our sages in the Mishna taught: “There are four days in the year that serve as the New Year, each for a different purpose: On the first of Nisan is the New Year for kings; it is from this date that the years of a king’s rule are counted. And the first of Nisan is also the New Year for the order of the Festivals, as it determines which is considered the first Festival of the year and which the last. On the first of Elul is the New Year for animal tithes; all the animals born prior to that date belong to the previous tithe year and are tithed as a single unit, whereas those born after that date belong to the next tithe year. On the first of Tishrei is the New Year for counting years….and the New Year for trees is on the fifteenth of Shevat.
This Sunday evening/Monday morning is the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, known as the minor festival of Tu Bishvat. It is the time to celebrate our environment, our ecology. We recall two years ago at this season (remember the time just before COVID?) disastrous fires raged across Australia, destroying over one billion mammals, birds and reptiles combined.
We now know that the last seven years have been the hottest on planet earth since records have been kept, and that people on all sides of politics share concern about climate change. We also know those horrific bushfires released hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, whereas standing and new growth forests reduce CO2. In light of the targets of COP26, in the spirit of TuBishvat (whose major mitzvah is to plant a tree) now is the time to support the work of JNF, Greening Australia and other organisations that are planting trees and caring for the environment. In these waning days of summer holidays, let us celebrate our environment and commit to preserving it for the generations to come.
Stay safe, well and enjoy!
Please share your memories, family stories and photos from the Heritage Sanctuary with Marina@Emanuel.org.au
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