Lesson video

Hello, my name's Ms. Rivers.

I'm glad you've chosen this lesson, and I'm looking forward to working with you today.

Today's lesson is from the unit "Festivals: How do they celebrate the natural world?" And the lesson is called "The festival of trees." By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain how Jews celebrate the festival of trees.

And our learning today is all about a Jewish festival and how it celebrates and remembers the natural world.

We'll have a story to listen to, and we'll be thinking about Jewish worldviews.

Some of today's learning will be new for everyone, but I'm here to help, and we can learn together.

The keywords for today are Tu B'Shevat, that's the Jewish festival of trees.

Seder, that's a meal that follows a pattern or order.

And steward, that's someone who looks after something carefully.

These might be new words to you, so let's practise them together.

I'll say the word, and then you say it back to me.

Tu B'Shevat.

Seder.

Steward.

We'll be using these words all the way through the lesson, so listen carefully and see how many times you hear them being used.

In the first part of the lesson, we'll be learning all about the festival of trees.

What is the festival of trees? Lucas and Laura are talking about religious education.

Lucas says, "Religious education often seems to be about people and the things they do.

I wonder why?" Laura has an answer for him.

She says, "We can understand different worldviews by finding out about how people behave.

People show what's important to them by the things they do and the ways they celebrate." In this lesson today, we'll be learning all about the Jewish celebration of Tu B'Shevat, and this will help us to understand Jewish worldviews.

This oak tree is hundreds of years old, and it's still growing.

Wood from trees can be used to make so many things, including furniture, toys, and paper.

I wonder how many things you can think of that are made from trees? Pause the video and see how many things you can think of.

Did you think of lots of ideas? I wonder if you thought about chairs and tables and even exercise books in school.

Lots and lots of things are made from trees, and they're really important to us.

Laura and Lucas are talking about trees.

Lucas says, "I sometimes wonder what the trees by the school playground would say if they could talk.

They must have seen so many children playing there over hundreds of years." Laura says, "I helped my dad to plant a cherry tree in our garden.

I will be at secondary school before we can pick cherries from it.

I'm sure it will be worth the wait." What about you? I wonder if you like trees.

Maybe you have a favourite tree, or maybe you have a tree that you can pick fruit from.

Today's learning is all about a festival of trees that celebrates trees and how important they are to us.

Rafi has a Jewish worldview, and he attends an Orthodox synagogue.

He's talking about the Jewish festival of trees.

He says, "Tu B'Shevat is a Jewish festival of trees.

It takes place on the same date every year, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat.

It is usually in January or February.

Tu B'Shevat is like a birthday party for trees." Did you notice Rafi using one of our keywords? Tu B'Shevat, that's the name of the festival.

And can you see that the word Shevat, which is the Jewish month, is hidden in that keyword? So Tu B'Shevat is the birthday party for trees that takes place on the same date every year.

Mahsa also has a Jewish worldview.

She attends a Sephardi synagogue, and she talks about the Jewish festival of trees too.

She says, "We planted some fruit trees in our garden to celebrate Tu B'Shevat this year.

A fruit tree has to reach its third birthday before the fruit can be picked, so we will have to wait a few years before we can enjoy the fruit from our trees." So Mahsa celebrated by planting some trees.

That's one of the things that some Jewish people do at Tu B'Shevat.

Mahsa says that the fruit tree has to reach its third birthday before they can pick the fruit.

So Tu B'Shevat helps Jewish people to count how old the trees are because they can see how many birthdays the trees have had, and then they'll know when it's time to start picking fruit from the tree.

So here's a quick check to see what we've learned so far.

Is this true or false? Jews plant trees at Tu B'Shevat.

Have a think about your answer.

That's right, it's true.

Jews might choose to plant trees to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, just like Mahsa did, because it's a festival of trees.

Well done if you got that answer right.

Rafi explains a bit more about Tu B'Shevat.

He talks about how he celebrates at the synagogue.

He says, "We planted some trees in the grounds of my synagogue at Tu B'Shevat.

We said some blessings over the new trees and thought about how important trees are for a healthy life.

Maybe I will sit in the shade of these trees when I am an old man." So Rafi is thinking about how long the trees he planted will last.

Maybe they will get as old as the oak tree that we saw at the beginning of the lesson.

Trees last a very long time, and Rafi is thinking about the future when he plants his trees.

At Tu B'Shevat, some Jews have a special seder meal including different types of fruit.

Can you see the picture of a plate with lots of different types of fruit on it? And can you remember that keyword seder? A seder is a meal where things are eaten in a special order, and this is a meal where the fruit is eaten in a special order.

Jewish families eat their fruit, and they might choose a meaning for each type of fruit.

Sometimes they choose funny things, like "We're eating dates because today is a special date." Or they might say, "We're eating sweet pineapple because we want to have a sweet life." Mahsa is talking about Tu B'Shevat and explaining a little bit more about her Sephardi traditions at this festival.

She says, "At Tu B'Shevat, we have a seder meal which is all about fruit to remind us of the food we get from trees.

In our family seder, we eat 15 different kinds of fruit and nuts, including grapes, figs, pomegranates, almonds, and dates.

We say prayers and sing psalms while we eat." Do you like the sound of Mahsa's celebrations at Tu B'Shevat? Maybe you would enjoy eating 15 kinds of fruit as well.

It's also a serious time where they say some prayers and some blessings and say thank you to God for all the wonderful fruit and lovely food that they can eat.

So, here's another check to see what we've learned so far.

Which two of these might be eaten at a seder meal for Tu B'Shevat? You can choose from A, dates, B, egg, and C, pomegranate.

Remember to choose two.

Pause the video while you think about your answer.

That's right, it was dates and pomegranate.

They're both fruits that might be eaten in the seder meal at Tu B'Shevat.

Well done if you got that answer right.

So now it's your turn to do some work.

Can you see this empty plate? I'd like you to use it to plan a special meal of fruit and nuts to celebrate trees, inspired by how Tu B'Shevat is celebrated with a seder meal by Jewish people.

So think about what you might put on your plate.

What fruit or nuts might you choose? Draw on the plate to show your ideas, and then I'd like you to explain why you made some of your choices.

You might want to give meanings to some of your fruit, a bit like Jewish people do.

Or maybe you'll choose your favourite fruits to put on your plate.

Just remember to explain why you've made your choices.

So pause the video while you do your work.

So well done for working hard.

I wonder what your plate looks like now that you've drawn fruit and nuts on it to make a seder meal.

I wonder if your plate looks a bit like mine.

And have you remembered to explain why you chose the fruit and the nuts on your plate? Maybe you said something like this: My fruit seder includes grapes, oranges, and raisins to remind me that life can be sweet.

I have chosen almonds and olives because they come from trees and Tu B'Shevat is a celebration of trees.

I wonder if you said something a bit like that, or maybe you had some different ideas.

In the second part of the lesson, we'll be thinking all about the natural world and why it's so important for Jewish people.

Why do Jews care for the natural world? Here's Rafi again, and he's explaining a little bit more about planting trees at the synagogue at Tu B'Shevat.

The synagogue is his place of worship, and it's really important to him.

Rafi says, "When we planted the trees in the grounds of my synagogue at Tu B'Shevat, we thought about all the people in the future that would be able to see and enjoy them.

The Rabbi told us the story of Honi and the trees." So I'm going to tell you the story of Honi and the trees, and this is an important story for Jewish people.

So get comfortable, and be ready to listen to the story.

The story of Honi and the trees.

Long, long ago, there lived a wise man named Honi the Circle Maker.

He walked the earth with quiet steps, listening to the whispering winds and the songs of the trees.

He stood in his circle and prayed for rain and blessings on the fields and crops.

One day, as he wandered, Honi saw an old woman hunched over the earth, her gnarled fingers pressing a tiny seed into the soil.

The woman's eyes, crinkled like autumn leaves, gleamed with patience and care.

Honi stopped and asked, "What are you planting?" The woman looked up and smiled.

"I am planting a carob tree." Honi tilted his head.

"How long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?" The woman's voice was as steady as the earth.

"It will take 70 years." Honi gasped.

"70 years? but you will not live long enough to eat the fruit and taste its sweetness." So here's a quick check.

True or false? Honi saw an old woman picking fruit from a tree.

Is that true or false? That's right, it's false.

Honi saw an old woman planting a tree.

She wasn't picking fruit.

She was planting the seed to grow into a tree.

Well done if you got that answer right.

Now let's carry on with the story.

The old woman smiled and said, "When I was a child, I found trees that my grandparents had planted for me.

Now I am planting this tree for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren so that those who come after me can enjoy its fruit and taste its sweetness." Honi looked at the old carob trees in the forest nearby and thought about what the old woman had said.

The breeze hummed a lullaby.

The sun warmed his skin.

And time folded itself like a dream.

Honi placed a hand upon the rough bark of the trees, his heart swelling with understanding.

He realised that these ancient trees had been planted by someone many, many years ago, and now he could enjoy their shade and their fruit today.

And so the old woman taught Honi the lesson that trees and time whisper to those who listen.

The greatest gifts are those we leave for others, even those we may never meet.

Rafi is thinking about the deeper meanings of the story of Honi and the trees, and he explains more about why it's important to him to plant trees at Tu B'Shevat.

He says, "When God created the world, he said that human beings should be stewards of creation.

The story of Honi and the trees reminds me to look after the natural world so that future generations can enjoy it as much as I do." Did you see that keyword there, stewards? Stewards means somebody that looks after something.

And for Jewish people, it's really important for them to look after the world that God made.

You might have noticed in Rafi's speech bubble that the word God has the middle letter missing.

That's because the word God is such a holy and special word for Jewish people, and they're really careful how they say it and write it.

So in our slides, we've written it like this so that we can remember that this a holy and special word for Jewish people.

Mahsa explains more about stewardship of the natural world.

Do you remember that word steward? That means looking after something.

So stewardship is the same.

It means looking after the natural world.

Mahsa says, "At Tu B'Shevat, I give money to charities that plant trees in other countries.

Being a good steward of creation means caring for the world.

The story of Honi and the trees reminds me not to waste wood and paper because trees are precious and they take so long to grow." So Mahsa finds some deeper meanings in the story and the festival.

It reminds her to look after the world and to be a good steward and not to waste things.

So here's another check.

It's true or false again.

The festival of Tu B'Shevat is only about trees.

Is that true or false? That's right, it's false.

The festival of Tu B'Shevat is about caring for the natural world and good stewardship of creation.

So it's not just about trees, it's about the whole natural world and all of creation as well.

Well done if you got that answer right.

So now it's your turn to do some work.

So Lucas and Laura are talking about why Jews care for the natural world.

And they've both got the right idea.

Explain why they're both correct.

So here's what Laura says, "Jews show care for the natural world because they believe they should be good stewards." And Lucas says, "Jews show care for the natural world by planting trees at the festival of Tu B'Shevat." So they're both correct, but can you explain why? Pause the video while you do your work, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say later.

I wonder what ideas you thought about.

Could you explain why Lucas and Laura were both correct in their explanations? You might have said something like this: Laura is right that Jews believe they should be good stewards of the world.

They believe that God created the world, so they have a responsibility to look after it and make sure they don't waste things.

You might have said: Lucas is right to say that Jews show care for the natural world by planting trees at the festival of Tu B'Shevat.

By planting trees, Jews are making sure that there will be trees and fruit for future generations.

I wonder if your ideas were a bit like mine, or maybe you had some different ideas.

Well done for doing good thinking and for listening carefully in today's lesson.

So we've learned a lot in today's lesson all about the festival of trees and how Jewish people celebrate it.

We've learned that the festival of trees is called Tu B'Shevat, and it's like a birthday party for trees.

We've learned that it celebrates the gift of trees as part of creation.

We've learned that some Jews celebrate Tu B'Shevat with a special seder meal, including lots of different kinds of fruit.

And we've listened to the story of Honi and the trees.

And this story reminds Jews to be good stewards of creation by caring for the environment now and thinking about it right into the future.

So thank you for listening so carefully in today's lesson and for working hard.

I've enjoyed working with you.