Tu B'Shvat and Tzedekah!

Tu B'shvat has come and gone, and the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy celebrated by collecting tzedekah to plant a grove in the recently devastated Carmel region of Israel. As part of our celebration, our students were visited by the Jewish National Fund's iconic tzedekah symbol, Blue Box Bob.


Families created twig candle holders and listened to a dramatic storytelling and sampling of the shevat ha'minim. The highlight of the celebration was dancing to Tu B'shvat songs with Blue Box Bob, who also sent our students home with their very own JNF tzedekah box. 

The Blue Box Bob Program is a multi-component educational program for Jewish day, afternoon, and Sunday schools. It is designed to use stories and innovative educational materials to foster themes such as nation building, connection to Israel, and how to help take care of others. It is a program of the Jewish National Fund, a non-profit organization founded in 1901 to serve as caretaker of Israel, on behalf of its owners -- Jewish people everywhere. Over the past century, JNF has planted more than 240 million trees, built over 180 reservoirs and dams, developed more than 250,000 acres of land, created more than 1,000 parks, provided the infrastructure for 1,000 communities, and educated students around the world about Israel and the environment.