Students and Gainesville residents sang traditional chants together Monday night to celebrate the Jewish holiday Tu B’Shevat.
Tu B’Shevat, which is the Jewish new year for trees, is a holiday that traditionally celebrates the agricultural cycle in Israel. About 20 UF students celebrated the holiday at Chabad UF by eating fruit and listening to musician Dror Sinai, said Rabbi Aaron Notik.
He said the day is a time for Jewish students to come together as a community and reflect on their cultural roots.
Dror Sinai, artist and founder of Rhythm Fusion Inc., chants in celebration of Tu B'Shvat, the New Year of trees, at Chabad on Monday.
“That’s really the lesson of this holiday,” he said. “What’s really important for us is to grow and maintain strong roots. That’s what allows us to grow strong, to blossom and flower.”
He said students celebrate the holiday by eating seven traditional foods, including fruit and wheat, that grow in Israel. Some students planted trees in honor of the day on the Plaza of the Americas on Monday morning.
The students sat in a circle and sang along with Sinai, who played hand drums and sang songs in Hebrew and Yiddish.
Sinai said he likes the holiday because it emphasizes humans’ relationship with the environment.
“The human and the trees actually need each other to grow,” he said. “There’s magic in it.”
Myles Marcus, a 19-year-old UF mechanical engineering freshman, fills a plate at Chabad on Monday. He said he came to celebrate Tu B'Shvat as part of his religion and because he thought Chabad was always fun.
Catheline Runager, a UF sociology sophomore, said it was her second time celebrating Tu B’Shevat after she converted to Judaism her first semester at UF.
“They have some awesome music,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s a great way to celebrate the holiday with fruit.”
She said she had always felt drawn to Judaism and goes to Chabad UF every Friday to connect with her faith and meet new people.
“The people here are great,” Runager said. “It helps my love for Torah blossom.”
Contact Kaitlyn Newberg at knewberg@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @k_newberg.
Attendees clap along to chants at Chabad's Tu B'Shvat celebration Monday. Tu B’Shvat, which began at sunset on Sunday and ended at nightfall Monday, is celebrated in Israel as an ecological awareness day.
