(North Bergen, NJ—January 6, 2017) The High Tech Jewish Cultural Club has planted flowers in honor of Tu BiShvat (the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shvat), a holiday commonly known as “The New Year for Trees,” announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
On Tu BiShvat, a holiday akin to Arbor Day, Jewish people plant trees and flowers all around the world. The growth of the plants, according to Jewish tradition, represents the emotional development of the planter. Students, guided by advisor Kerri Ann Murphy, High Tech Language Arts instructor, and Rabbi Reuven Lebovitz, the New Jersey NCSY Director of Education, received flower pots, along with the instruction to compose long-term goals on the sides of their pots of flowers.
“With time, the flowers will grow and students will hopefully find themselves closer to achieving their goals,” says Laiba Khan, a junior at High Tech who inaugurated the Jewish Cultural Club.
The Jewish Cultural Club, composed of a diverse ethnic group of lower and upperclassmen, also raised enough money, handled by NCSY, to plant at least two trees in Israel in honor of victims of a recent terrorist attack. At the time of this writing, the trees have already been planted.
On behalf of the High Tech Jewish Cultural Club, may everyone have a happy Tu BiShvat.
