Happy New Year to the Trees!

[CENTRO ANTI-BLASFEMIA]

A NOTE FROM DAVID BRICKNER: Happy New Year to the Trees! by David
Brickner
January 18, 2011

I know that the 2011 New Year's celebration is already a few weeks old
by now but this week on the Jewish calendar, we actually celebrate
another entirely different New Year … this time for trees. Really!

This "New Year" is a minor Jewish festival known as Tu B'shevat,
meaning the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is spoken
of in the Talmud as Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot, or New Year of the trees.
The holiday, celebrated this year on Thursday January 20, serves as a
Jewish version of Arbor Day. Traditionally, we celebrate the day by
planting trees and eating various fruits and nuts in accordance with
Deuteronomy 20:19, "... for the tree of the field is man's food." Some
people even celebrate with a Seder meal, not unlike the Seder meal
that is part of Passover.

Of all the Jewish communities in the world, Tu B'shevat is by far most
widely celebrated in Israel, where planting trees has been extremely
important in the process of reclaiming and revitalizing that once arid
and barren land. The Jewish National Fund has taken on much of the
responsibility of reforestation in Israel. Many tourist groups, Jewish
and Christian alike, take the opportunity to help in that process by
purchasing trees to plant in Israel's forests. The last time I was in
Israel, I had the privilege of planting trees in honor of Moishe and
Ceil Rosen. The devastating fire in the Mount Carmel region lately
probably lends even more importance to Tu B'shevat this month.

Trees are indeed important for many different reasons. Today I was
driving to the Amtrak station in Washington D.C. The night before, a
couple of inches of snow had fallen and was still clinging
beautifully, almost magically, to the branches of all the trees lining
both sides of the Potomac River. It was a majestic sight that reminded
me of the artistry of our great Creator God.

Isn't it interesting that trees play such a prominent role in God's
purposes for His creation? In the Garden of Eden, trees were a symbol
of God's grace and provision for humanity—except for one special tree
that served as a boundary between obedience and disobedience. God used
that tree to instruct and to warn: "And the LORD God commanded the
man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat of it you shall surely die'" (Genesis 2:16-17).

Likewise, the apostle John's vision of our eternal home in the New
Jerusalem showcases the description of a tree that is truly wonderful
beyond imagination and beyond anything we have seen on this earth: "In
the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the
tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit
every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations" (Revelation 22:2). From beginning to end we can see that our
Creator God uses the majesty and meaning of the trees He has created
to point us to Him.

Science has demonstrated how important trees are in maintaining a
healthy atmosphere and balanced environment. Even though
environmentalism is so often associated with political controversy, it
is important to remember that God is the first and ultimate
environmentalist. We who are His children worship the Creator and not
the creation; nevertheless, our love for God should compel us to love
what He has made and to be good stewards of the earth He has entrusted
to us.

In addition to great beauty, there is an aura of mystery in the midst
of a beautiful forest. Living in Northern California, I have often
ventured into groves of the giant redwood trees. You can stand in the
midst of these giants and listen to the wind whispering in those
trees. It is such a wonderful and powerful experience; you can almost
believe you are listening, like Adam, for the sound of the Lord God
walking in the cool of the day. Every now and again you hear the groan
and crackle of the trees as they sway in the wind. C.S. Lewis
captured this sense of mystery through his imaginative personification
of trees in The Chronicles of Narnia. But the mystery of the trees is
far more than mere stories or fairy tales. There is a mystery that
plays into the real redemption story that God planted in His very
Word.

Why do you suppose that God through Moses told us that“he who is
hanged on a tree isaccursed of God" (Deuteronomy 21:23c)? Well,
whenever God curses something in the Bible, we ought to pay close
attention. The apostle Paul unlocked the mystery behind this unusual
Scripture in Galatians 3:13, by quoting it in the context of what our
Lord Jesus accomplished: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is
everyone who hangs on a tree')."

Y'shua's death on Calvary's tree was foreordained by God, established
as His plan to redeem us from before the very foundations of the
earth. Like those trees in the Garden of Eden, that tree symbolized
God's grace and provision, along with His warning of the consequence
of sin and separation from Him. When Messiah hung on that cross, that
tree, He experienced on our behalf all the pain that sin (and
separation and brokenness) has unleashed on this world since the
Garden. And when He died on that tree the veil was rent, the curse was
broken and the blood of His life shed for us indeed became "the
healing of the nations." The cursed One became the source of ultimate
blessing. The mystery once hidden has now been revealed and we who
believe are now redeemed. Hallelujah!

I don't know what kind of tree that cross on which Jesus died was made
from, but I am kind of glad I don't know. What happened on that cross
means everything to me, but it's not a symbol I would choose to wear—
mostly because many whom I am called to reach would misunderstand it.
Sadly, the symbolism of the cross has been misused throughout history,
especially with regard to the Jewish people. And as Moishe Rosen often
pointed out, Jesus didn't wear the cross; that cross wore Him.

But the wonder of the cross is forever wedded in my mind to the wonder
of a tree. That is a symbol that I can see and celebrate each and
every day with joy and gratitude. And it isn't a bad thing to have a
special day set aside like Tu B'shevat, a day to celebrate God's gift
of trees. How I long for those who are celebrating this day to
understand and celebrate, not just the mystery and gift of trees, but
also the mystery and gift of the One who died upon that very special
tree to make possible the healing of all the nations. Written By

David Brickner
Executive Director of Jews for Jesus

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