Woods

New planted trees always excites me.

Woods and forests fill my heart with joy.

The young trees in India, reminded me of the newly-planted garden in Old Jaffa, that I planted as young. (at the junction of Yeffet St and Dr. Ehrlich St.).

I’ll never forget the first time I planted a tree during the Jewish festival of Tu B’Shvat, the “Holiday of the Trees.” I was 5 years old. It was in the Arab quarter (at that time) of Old Jaffa, at the junction of Yeffet St and Dr. Ehrlich St. All the small children in my kindergarten planted seedlings that day. The ground looked like open mouths facing us.

Longing to Old Jaffa that I love, a few weeks ago I looked at that forgotten drawing I did in India, and decided to bring back to life the passion and excitement I had when passing by the planted trees in Old Jaffa some years ago, and saw that they grew to a remarkable wood.

“The Holiday of the Trees” is over a hundred years old.
“Tu B’Shevat” (ט״ו בשבט in Hebrew) has ancient sources that go back thousands of years. However, in its current form in the Israeli tradition, the main custom is planting seedlings. This has been celebrated since 1908, when the Teachers’ Union declared that it would be a day of planting seedlings and educating children about the importance of planting trees. Since then, this holiday has been celebrated every year with mass plantings throughout Israel, and therefore it can be described as one of the most ecological, environmentally-friendly holidays.

Motorways and high-rising buildings are deadly and destructive for the woods.

“Trees enlarge our hearts. Let them grow for hundreds of years.” NM

The print at the top: “Purple Woods”, 17.12.2024 [Experimenting]

I am experimenting silkscreen printing in CMYK.

To be continued. 🙂