A most wonderful Jewish holiday this week is the birthday of the Fruit Trees. Its name, Tu B’Shevat, or the 15th of Shevat (the name of a lunar calendar Hebrew month), isn’t very creative. Tu B’Shevat is observed in a variety of ways, but it’s considered a minor festival since none of our celebrations include synagogue services.
This year, Tu B’Shevat begins at sundown on Sunday, January 16, and concludes at sundown on Monday, January 17.
(Photo by Fran Stone)
Our campus is filled with beautiful trees and foliage but we don’t have fruit trees. Thanks to Cathy Zheutlin, our Spiritual Life Coordinator, and the Life Enrichment department, we can still celebrate the abundance of arboreal delights on our site.
Residents will have the opportunity to plant two dogwood bushes with the Kitah Dalet Aliyah program of Congregation Nevah Shalom and there will be two Tu B’Shevat Seders to celebrate nature.
Below you will find poetry written by Cedar Sinai Park residents Fran Stone and Lilian Steinberg, both of blessed memory. Each were active participants in a poetry and photography class in 2015 and found great inspiration in our Cedar Sinai gardens and forest.
The photos and poems were first published in the fall of 2015 in a resident-produced calendar. We hope you enjoy them!
A long Path leading to a distant place
Trees reflecting shadows
The shining Sun is the Painter
Making Patterns on the Pavement
Trees reflecting shadows
Spring in all its glory
Making Patterns on the Pavement
trees heavy with foliage
Spring in all its glory
Greenery yielding Blue Flowers
Trees heavy with foliage
A house peeking through
Greenery yielding Blue Flower
Lawn freshly mowed
A house peeking through
Car parked at the curb
A long Path leading to a distant place
No birds
No water
No flowers
A spark of hope in the red shoots
Green frames the altar
For the coming season
Earth
Giver of new life
Prepares
Prepares
Prepares
Celebrate Tu B’Shevat
Kimberly Fuson
Elise Brickner-Shulz
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