COSTA MESA : Students Plant Trees on Jewish Holiday

Students at the Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School celebrated a Jewish holiday Friday by planting trees.

The Tu B’Shevat holiday “celebrates the cycle of life” by honoring trees, which are “symbolic of life,” parent Elise Rosen said.

About 80 children took part in the campus event, which began with a discussion of the holiday and a meal that included figs and dates.

Students planted two citrus trees as well as some parsley, which will be used during the upcoming Passover holiday, school director Bernice Gelman said.

Tu B’Shevat is a popular holiday in Israel, where many people spend the day planting trees. In the United States, others send donations to Israel so that trees can be planted, Gelman said.

The school has been operating at 250 E. Baker St. since September.

“We just moved here so it is fitting that we planted trees . . . that will last for years,” Rosen said.

A Jewish community center and senior citizens’ center are located near the school in what was once a warehouse. “It’s a very vibrant area now,” Gelman said.