Shalom L’Kulam!
I am an avid outdoorsman and hiker, so the festival of Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish New Year of Trees, has a special place in my heart.
Planting and sowing seeds are powerful acts. Every time I look at a mighty oak, a towering redwood or a beautiful willow, trees that could be hundreds if not thousands of years old, I am amazed that such natural wonders began as minute seedlings and fragile saplings.
Without our constant care and attention, a tree that has the potential to be the king of the forest could otherwise wither and die.
It is humbling to know that such incredible testimonies of the natural world at one point could fit into the palm of your hand. Without our constant care and attention, a tree that has the potential to be the king of the forest could otherwise wither and die.
The same can be said of our children. If we do not invest in, mentor, care for and love our own children and the youth of our community, each of whom has the potential to be a nurse, doctor, lawyer, ambassador, member of the clergy, community leader, defender of civil and human rights, teacher and educator, police officer, firefighter or soldier, doting mom or dad, loving husband or wife, they too could wither and die through lives of poverty, drugs, crime, hopelessness, helplessness and despair.
It is my prayer that we take this upcoming Tu B’Shevat not only as an opportunity for planting, but one for nurturing our children
Therefore, it is my prayer that we take this upcoming Tu B’Shevat not only as an opportunity for planting, but one for nurturing our children and Terre Haute’s youth so that they, like trees, the ultimate testaments of the natural world, will grow into the highest embodiments of the human spirit.
Etz Chaim Hi! Kevin Yehi Ratzon!
Aaron
Student Rabbi Aaron Rozovsky will serve UHC Terre Haute throughout the 2016-17 academic year.