Seven Species Salad OC JEWISH THEATRE

Ingredients: Lettuce, (any kind, but the baby is good) Seeds from 1/2 to 1 ripe TU B’SHEVAT pomegranate 6 to 8 figs, quartered PERFORMANCES: The Jewish Handful of seedless Saturday, Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m. (or deseeded) grapes, Sunday, Jan. 19, 1 p.m. halved or quartered New Year of All tickets $10. FREE for registered Preschool and Club J students 2 to 4 dates, sliced (with regular adult admission) Olive oil and balsamic the Trees vinegar GREAT JEWISH AMERICANS 101 Barley and wheat croutons AN “EDUTAINING” SERIES AT THE J about outstanding Jewish Americans and their contributions to the world. Optional: JEWISH AMERICAN Goat cheese NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATES Bee or date honey Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, 4-5:30 p.m. Presented by Dr. David Dalin To make the croutons, get some bread Rabbi, historian, professor, author and editor (preferably sliced) that has both wheat and barley flour and cut in to bite-sized pieces (2cm to 3cm square) and place on a baking tray or casserole dish.

In a bowl, combine olive oil and some Rosalyn Yalow Elie Wiesel Henry Kissinger Saul Bellow favorite spices, oregano, basil, and/or $10 JCC members thyme. Brush the oil and herb mixture over $12 public the bread pieces and bake at 400°F to $14 at the door. 450°F until the bread feels like croutons.

Combine everything and enjoy! Paul Samuelson Albert A. Michelson Milton Friedman

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Irv Chase, Chairman of the Board • Dan Bernstein, President and CEO TU B’SHEVAT - The Jewish New Year of the Trees Tu B’Shevat Blessing for Planting Trees

Shevat 15, 5774 • January 16, 2014 In the 19th century, as Jews began returning to the Land of Israel, they helped restore the desert and make Q ¤kn ¤ Ubhv«k ¥ t ¡ hh v¨T©t QUr¨C The name of this holiday is actually its date! Tu is a pro- it bloom, since the hillsides of Judea and the Galilee uh¨,Im¦ § n§C UbJ§ ¨ S¦e rJ£ ¤ t o¨kIg¨v nunciation of the Hebrew letters for the number 15, and had been stripped of tree cover. Tu B’Shevat became it falls in the Hebrew month of Shevat. On the Jewish an important day and a symbol of this massive /ohmh¥ ¦ g ,©ghy§b § k©g Ub¨U¦m§u calendar this date marks the “New Year of the Trees.” reforestation effort. Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Throughout the Diaspora (lands outside the Land of Praised are You the Eternal One our G-d, Ruler of the Cosmos Why would one need a New Year for the trees? who hasHaOlam, made us holyAsher with sacredKidshanu obligations B’Mitzvotav, and called us to Originally it was for tax purposes. In addition, there is a Israel) Jews also contributed money for trees to be plant V’Tzivanutrees. Al Netiat Eitzim. little-known law in Judaism called Orlah, which prohibits planted in Israel, a custom that continues to this day. eating the fruit of a tree until it is four years old. How Another Tu B’Shevat custom, dating back to 1908, is Praised are You the Eternal One our G-d, does one ascertain a tree’s age? By its birthday - and tree-planting ceremonies that take place throughout Ruler of the Cosmos who has made us Tu B’Shevat is the birthday of the trees! Israel. As a result of this massive reforestation effort, today Israel is the only country in the world that has holy with sacred obligations and called us In Judaism, trees are accorded special status. The more trees at the beginning of the twenty-first century to plant trees. Torah teaches, “When in your war against a city you than it did at the beginning of the twentieth century! have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees...Are trees of the field human For American Jews, Tu B’Shevat has become a sort of to withdraw before you into the besieged city? Only “Jewish Earth Day” in which the Jewish community pays trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed” special attention to the responsibility we have to take (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). care of the earth. Hikes and various outdoor nature- oriented activities have become a popular way of Throughout Jewish history the observance of Tu celebrating Tu B’Shevat. B’Shevat continued to evolve. For Jews living in Europe, it became customary to eat dried fruit—the only fruits available when the holiday occurred at the end of the FROM MIDRASH ECCLESIASTES RABBAH: long European winter. Carobs were commonly eaten, as When G-d created the first human beings, G-d led them were almonds because in Israel, the almond tree is the around the Garden of Eden and said: Look at my works! first to bloom and is seen as the harbinger of spring. See how beautiful they are! How excellent! Take care not to spoil or destroy My world, for if you do, there will In the 16th century, Jewish mystics in Tzfat (a city in be no one to repair it after you. northernmost Israel) were captivated by the spiritual metaphors of fruit, trees and nuts. They created a special Tu B’Shevat Seder—eating fruits and drinking wine in a special sequential order—that they thought could further the mission of tikkun olam (the spiritual repair of the world). Text and contents courtesy of Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Foster City, CA.