Chodesh Shevat Sparks a Month of Activism and Healing
Edited by: TJVNews.com
The Jewish month of Shevat which commenced on January 3, 2022 and concluded on January 30, 2022, sparked and inspired a month of activism and healing. Most notably Shevat contained the holiday of Tu B’Shevat which was observed on the 15th Day of Shevat which coincided with January 17, 2022, MLK Day. Tu B’Shevat is the New Year of the Trees, and marks the start of spring in Israel, when trees begin to bloom after a long, cold winter.
According to Jewish tradition, on Tu B’Shevat, the Almighty decides the produce of the world and this judged and based upon the actions of the people who reside on earth. The holiday places great emphasis on people who are the fiduciary guardians of the planet to be responsible and worthy of the Almighty’s benevolence and blessings which determines the great bounty that the Lord will grant the universe.
Today, many people mark this holiday by planting saplings and participating in a meal that evokes the Passover seder, where fruits, nuts, and wine or grape juice are on the menu. Besides the seder, many families spend Tu B’Shevat planting a tree, working in a garden, eating special fruit, or doing something else to show some love for trees and the earth. “However, charity begins at home, and people most demonstrate the love they have for their fellow person. Only then we deem ourselves as worthy individuals and trustees of the world that merits the Almighty’s blessings on the produce that we need and enjoy,” so commented Rabbi Aharon, Zeev, spiritual leader of the Aur Torah Sephardic Minyan of Staten Island.
“Tu B’Shevat fell out on January 17, 2022, during a precarious time. This is especially so when we take a moment pause and to reflect on the January 15, 2022, incident that happened on the heels of the national observance of MLK Day at Congregation Beth Israel, Colleyville, Texas. Sadly, on this day, a gunman disrupted religious services, held five people including the rabbi hostage, and began a standoff with police that lasted for more than ten hours. Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement, all the hostages were safely released on Saturday night.
“In order to set the tone correctly for Tu B’Shevat, I suggested to Aur Torah’s President Oshri Reuven to advise his wife Iva Reuven who serves as the Staten Island Council of Jewish Organization’s (COJO’s) Service Committee Chairperson to dedicate Shevat as a month of activism and healing. Little did I realize at the time the significance of this suggestion and the importance and powerful impact of this recommendation. As the events of Shevat occurred and unfolded I saw that my recommendation was correct. I cannot thank Mendy Mirocznik, president of COJO; Scott Maurer, CEO and executive vice-president of COJO, Rev. Terry Troia, president of Project Hospitality and Gloria Novoa for accepting the challenge and more than meeting the task and energy required and for engaging in positive community projects which truly makes this world and in particular Staten Island a better place for all people. Your actions truly make people and the world worthy recipients of the Lord’s benevolence and bounty. I cannot thank you enough for your dedicating to public service and community. As Rabbi of Aur Torah, I assure you that our Congregational family is proud of your community work and we are more then honored and pleased to partner, support, sponsor and host these worthy positive communal projects.”
Mendy Mirocznik, remarked, “What started on January 16, 2022, as a Tu B’Shevat food distribution which besides consisting of needed food for the community and special fruit in honor of Tu B’Shevat observance set the stage for an energetic and powerful month of caring, and sharing. Our Spiritual Guide Rabbi Aharaon Zeev’s Spiritual advise as a response to the hostage incident a day earlier in Colleyville, Texas laid the ground work in setting the tone for Shevat as a month of Activism and Healing. What started out as Tu B’Shevat food distribution quickly transformed into a month of collaborative activism with an eye of transforming ourselves on the individual level to become better more considerate and understanding individuals.
The current state of affairs and events of Shevat has truly transformed and made more meaningful and relevant the positive community projects that COJO has engaged in with our partners and friends. The rise in anti-Semitic incidents, racism, bigotry and hate coupled with the dreariness of the pandemic and the tragic deaths of Officer Jason Rivera, 22 and Wibert Mora 27, who tragically lost their young lives responding to a domestic disturbance at a Manhattan home on 135th Street. It was a senseless killing where 2 young police officers died in the line of duty for no valid or normal reason. These officers cared and were killed because of their dedication to public service and keeping the streets of New York City safe.
All of these incidents and events in the month of Shevat are wake up calls and I am delighted that we heeded Rabbi Zeev’s sagely spiritual advice. By engaging in positive actions, we transform ourselves and by doing so we touch the lives of the community and we pray that this positive interaction influences all of us to become better people resulting in a better community where we love, respect and appreciate our strangers, neighbor, family and friends. It is the strength that gives us the ability to heal and to learn that through caring we have the potential of not only changing ourselves for the good, but in that process the world around us as well.
To this extent I thank Rev. Terry Troia, president of Project Hospitality, Gloria Novoa, director of volunteers, Project Hospitality, Andres Garcia, executive director of El Centro del Inmigrante, Carina Vizhnay, Empire BlueCross and BlueShield, community relations, and Iva Reuven, COJO’s, Service Committee’s Chairperson who together with Rabbi Aharaon Zeev and the Aur Torah congregational family for creating the perfect strategic plan of action where we in partnership engaged Staten Island in the month of Shevat. Thank you Rabbi Zeev for your leadership and vision. You truly understand how to uplift Staten Island and to influence, comfort and inspire others. We are blessed to call you a friend.
