Birthday of Trees AKA Jewish Arbor Day

Our member, Casey McCarty, gives us a little background on the event she just participated in

Sine Metu Designs, recently had the wonderful opportunity of working with PunkTorah and OneShul to design two styles of tree pendants exclusively for their Tu B'Shevat fundraiser. I've found myself explaining this little gem of Jewish customs to several of my friends and acquaintances as I've spoken about our work on this project, and I'm pleased to be able to share the backstory with you!
"Jewish Arbor Day?"
Tu B'Shevat is sometimes referred to as the "birthday of trees" or "Jewish Arbor Day" by our gentile friends. It stems from an ancient tradition stemming from Leviticus 19:23-25 where the fruits of of new trees were pronounced off-limits (or not Kosher) until their fourth "birthday," and the 15th day of Shevat (the name for the Hebrew month which started yesterday) marking a "new year" for the purpose of counting the trees' age. Culturally this tradition may have had a another implications besides religious ones-- preventing people from chowing down on all the fruits from a young tree (and as you may know, it often takes many years for a tree to mature enough to fruit) prevents it from becoming over-spent and allows for it to re-seed, and in a harsh arid climate, it would be critical not to over-pick your young fruiting trees!
Since the Hebrew calendar is lunar-based, our holidays fall on different days each year on the Gregorian calendar, but this year Tu B'Shevat falls on February 8th. Modern traditions to observe and enjoy this minor holiday include eating fruits and foods which would have been abundant in biblical Israel, such as grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates, and planting trees, even paying to have a tree planted on your behalf in Israel.
100% of the sales go to OneShul, which is an online independent Jewish learning community--there are interactive streaming lay-led services, meditations, classes, discussions and more. They have a library of free Jewish-oriented eBooks, and candid discussion forums. OneShul is non-denominationally Jewish--meaning the spectrum from Reform to Orthodox Jews are represented. It provides open and inviting resources for exploring faith and traditions, connecting folks who are be physically all over the world with modern technology! Besides OneShul, PunkTorah also runs Modern Kosher, another online resource.

I Heart Trees!
When Patrick Aleph, the executive director for PunkTorah, asked if I could design something special for this Tu B'Shevat fundraiser, obviously something to do with trees was my first thought! And since you don't have to be Jewish to love trees, tmy creations would make great gifts for anyone! So I created two tree pendants: both are sculpted copper wire-one design features brilliant faceted Czech glass and one is unbeaded with the sculpted copper wire for a unisex look.

There are also a few tree charm bracelets on copper chain with a lobster-claw clasp, a small copper tree charm, and a single Czech glass bead in olive, which are also unisex. No photo up yet, but you can request when you order.

In addition, you will also receive a card I designed and made for them especially for Tu B'Shevat, featuring a hand inked and watercolored tree scene on the front of these acid-free heavyweight white linen tri-folds and the relevant Leviticus quote from which the Tu b'Shevat holiday stems. All are signed by me.
The fundraiser runs through January 31st over at: http://punktorah.org/featured/tu-bshevat-necklaces-on-sale-now