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Traditions, like plants, are cultivated.
What would Valentine’s Day be without roses or Easter without the lily?
It’s hard to imagine Christmas without the smell of pine or the warm glow of the Poinsettia.
There is no sacred bond between the Christmas tree and the birth of Christ any more than there is the lily with his resurrection. These are the handiworks of man. They are manmade emblems of our longing to create accessible and lasting representations that express our need for communal spirituality.
[img]256|left|||no_popup[/img] The Jewish Version
It is no surprise that the notion of a Chanukah bush is a bone of contention between those Jews who see it, especially in its menorah lookalike manifestations, as a distinctly living Jewish symbol; and the Jews who regard it as an assimilationist variation of a Christmas tree — especially when the two are virtually indistinguishable.
Trees and plants figure prominently in Jewish literature and lore. The very first reference to trees in the Torah appears at the time of creation and in the Garden of Eden. In the Bible, the Hebrew word for tree appears more than 150 times, and more than 100 different kinds of trees, shrubs and plants are named.
Genesis refers to the Tree of Life, Etz hayim, and the Tree of Knowledge, Etz da’at. Deuteronomy talks of Etz ma'achal, the Food Tree; while Nehemiah celebrates the Wine Tree, Etz tirosh.
Hebrew writings known as Midrash often use plants in similes and parables. Scholars have found more than 500 different plants mentioned in classical Jewish religious and folkloric writings.
[img]257|left|||no_popup[/img] Centrality of Plant Life
Ancient biblical civilizations were organized around the cultivation of trees and plants. They were essential to sustenance, construction and trade.
Jewish holidays abound with living symbols. For Sukkot – also known as Sukkos – a commemoration of the biblical pilgrimage to the Great Temple in Jerusalem, Jews build free-standing organic huts with a traditional roof of palm fronds where the family dines for the duration of the holiday. The hut ,or Sukkah, is often decorated with fruits or vegetables to symbolize the bounty of the autumn harvest.
Just as there is no reference to the Christmas tree or lily in the New Testament; there also is no prohibition in the Jewish texts against the ornamentation of Chanukah with a living symbol.
With that in mind, your Chanukah bush can be anything.
[img]258|left|||no_popup[/img] Doing It Yourself
Create your own custom by planting a fruit tree for each of the holiday’s eight days and nights. Tonight is the Fourth Night. Surround your menorah with fragrant rosemary or lilac. Decorate a bamboo with symbols of your faith; or for each day you light a candle, fasten scraps of parchment inscribed with good wishes to the branches of your favorite tree.
So while your lighting your menorah, spinning your dreidel and feasting on potato latkes, use your imagination to invent a living tradition that your fits your celebration of this most festive of Jewish holidays.
Carlos Saez is the owner of The Jungle Nursery, a leading designer garden center specializing in unique sculptural plants, tropicals, succulents, bamboo and a wide selection of indoor foliage including orchids. The Jungle, 1900 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles. 310. 235.2875.
Mr. Saez’ gardening column appears on Wednesdays.
