Dear readers,
This Thursday we celebrate Rosh Chodesh Shevat, and on the fifteen of this month, Tu BeShvat, the New Year for trees. This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.
It never ceases to humor me how here in America we celebrate the birth of the new fruit trees during one of the coldest winter months, when the ground is frozen over and the trees are barren and exposed.
But perhaps that is the message that we need to remember precisely at this time—from the cold and gloomy barrenness lies life giving treasures hiding beneath the surface just waiting to blossom.
So too within each of our sometimes gloomy circumstances lies the keys to unveil the beautiful potential of our world.
This week, we look at this theme. When life hands us lemons let’s learn how to make succulent lemonade. An ordinary trip down aisle eight in the supermarket opens our eyes to a new perspective on aging and the aged. And we discover a new spin on parenting in… what else but a spinning class. We also take a deeper look at one of the hardest hearts in history and learn how even such a heart can be melted through conviction and belief.
Wishing us all the opportunity to melt the surrounding ice and find the beautiful opportunities hidden within.
Chana Weisberg
Editor, TJW
