Tu B'Shvat, the New Year of Trees, inspires us to observe the tree and learn from it. One of the most striking things about the tree is the combination of conservatism and renewal.
How can I switch banks with a click for free? • All questions and answers Where are the coronavirus tests performed? What test is done and when? All the information 7 million American children who were vaccinated are not wrong: We got vaccinated and you should get vaccinated too Has it been three months since your second vaccination? This is how you will protect yourself from the virusUnlike an animal that is here today and somewhere else tomorrow, the tree remains in the same place, the roots are the same, and the trunk is the same. And yet there is renewal and growth in it, new branches, fresh leaves, fresh fruit.
This combination is the secret to true growth.
Some believe that renewal means cutting down the existing tree, negating the past, undoing everything that has been done so far. In the name of progress, they erase the legacy of generations who believe they discovered America.
The secret of real change
Years ago, at one of the national kibbutz conferences, one of the movement's thinkers lamented: "We destroyed the old world out of a desire to build a new one, but we failed to understand that only archaeologists can make a living from ruins.".
And he was right. Cutting down the tree is not progress and is not development. Cutting down the plantings is destruction and ruin, not flowering and growth.
Judaism develops and grows like a tree – while preserving its ancient roots and trunk. It responds to the challenges of the hour by discovering parts of the Torah that are especially necessary to meet these challenges.
In the face of the ills of the modern world, Judaism has developed the teachings of Hasidism, which breathes life into Jewish life and gives us strength to cope with the present. This is true growth and progress.
This combination is a guide for each and every one of us. To build layer upon layer, to add another good decision and good deed. Not to think that real change comes through revolutions and destruction. To believe in growth based on the race and roots on which we grew up.
We are also renewing.
The issue of 'Conversation of the Week' is also now trying to do this combination - to renew itself while maintaining the old and familiar format.
For many years, we avoided dramatic changes, feeling that the loyal readership loved the existing structure, the concise pair of pages, with the permanent sections, in which everyone finds what interests them.
However, after thirty-five years of regular appearances, week after week, it seems to us that the time has come for renewal.
We are doubling the number of pages in the newsletter, adding a double page spread for children, making some sections more spacious and making them more pleasant to read, and adding a new section that will answer questions in our lives. All of this alongside a design renewal in a more contemporary style.
And yet the newsletter retains its familiar format. We hope that loyal readers will quickly get used to these changes, and will continue to grab, as usual, the issues of 'Sichot Shvavu' and enrich their Shabbat table at home.
Another innovation is in the field of distribution - from now on, every community, synagogue, town, etc. can order (for a fee) the issues directly to them, and thus they will receive the quantity they need regularly and consistently.
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