Month: January 2022

One of the requirements to make a wine Kosher in Israel, is observance of the Shmittah year. Secular Jews and certainly everyone who is not Jewish, are endlessly confused about what this entails. The observance, ambiguities and contradictions of Shmittah defy rational explanation. This is my effort to write an explanation for the curious. Of course, it goes without saying, religious Jews, Torah observant Jews and Orthodox or Ultra-Orthodox Jews, should seek their explanations and discussions about the minutiae of the Halacha (Jewish law), from a Rabbi. This is not for them.

Israel has a festival for planting trees, which is called Tu Bishvat, aka the New Year for Trees. It is celebrated literally by planting trees and has also become a festival with ecological undertones, reminding us to care for the environment. School children will go on tree planting activities and people from abroad are encouraged to make a donation for a tree to be planted in their name. This respect for trees and the environment has stood Israel well. It is the only country in the world with more trees than one hundred years ago.