Virtual Author Visits for Passover, Yom HaShoah and Yom Ha'Atzmaut

Shalom from Israel:

Yes, that's me on a smart board at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul where I had a wonderful virtual author visit on January 9th. In fact, I've conducted several virtual author visits recently, and have found them to be a fun and enriching experience for the students and myself. My latest one was at the Religious School of Houston's Temple Sinai, during which I read Keeping The Promise, followed by a short Q&A.

This visit led me to an aha moment. Passover, Yom Hashoah and Yom Ha'Atzmaut are coming up and I have a book for each one:

Why not "invite" me to your school? Virtual Visits have numerous benefits: They create a sense of excitement, they're part of today's new technology, they eliminate the bother of transporting an author to your school, and most important for today's economy, they are the budget-wise way for creating an enrichment program. For more details, please visit my website.

Looking forward to hearing from you and meeting your students this Spring.

Le'Hitraot...Tami

Iraqi Jews Connect Weddings with Tu B'shvat

Once upon a time Jews living in the Land of Israel planted trees for babies born the previous year. Cedar trees were earmarked for boys, ensuring the infants develop into  tall, upright citizens. Girls on the other hand were assigned cyprus trees because of their grace and fragrance. On wedding days these two trees intertwined, with branches from both used to make the huppah, wedding canopy -- a theme continued on modern-day huppot.

But what about the actual connection between Tu B'Shvat, trees and weddings? Ask Iraqi Jews who call this holiday Chag Livluv HaEtzim -- Holiday of Tree Blossoming. One of their special customs is taking the bachelorettes of their community to the forest and assigning a tree to each as a "husband." One month later they return to the forest, checking which trees have begun to blossom. These symbols of budding romances mark upcoming marriages during the coming year.

You can say this custom is quaint or sweet, but let's put it in today's ecological terms. After all, Tu B'Shvat is the original Arbor Day and by Iraqi Jewish lights one could say that in order to protect the environment, they wisely husband their energy.



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