An explanation by Tamar Cytryn, Director of Judaic Studies:

Yesterday we celebrated the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat (the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat). Originally a legal demarcation to determine when fruit began to grow and when it had to be tithed, Tu BiShvat now reflects the experience of the Jewish community throughout the last millennia. It has become a day when we eat dried fruit from Israel to connect us to the land of Israel and a day where we plant trees in Israel and around the world. It has become a day to spend time in nature and raise environmental and ecological concerns, and it has become a day to think about how we too are life that grows and what we need to be sustained. 

Many thanks to our Hebrew and Judaic Studies teachers who helped our students understand this through their teaching, decorating, planting, and celebrating It was a beautiful day on campus!