Posted on January 25, 2018 by Rachel

A blog post by JMM Office Manager and Shop Assistant Jessica Konigsberg.

On the very first workday of the new calendar year, I began my position as Office Manager and Shop Assistant at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. In addition to supporting the visitor experience and working with the JMM’s Board of Trustees, I am also charged with operating the Museum Gift Shop, Esther’s Place (named for Esther Weiner who served as the shop’s manager for 23 years).

I’m especially delighted to take on the Gift Shop due to my own family background and eagerness to learn more about Jewish history and culture. While I married into a Jewish family three years ago after dating my now-husband for several years prior to that, my knowledge of Jewish traditions remains quite limited in many areas. The favorite holiday in my household of two is Passover; my husband and I celebrate this holiday every year without fail and love to welcome our friends into the traditions and rituals. Though I’ve celebrated a few other Jewish holidays over the years, I’m far less familiar with the relatively smaller holidays and so I’m excited to begin learning more so that I can help the Gift Shop reflect and uplift these occasions for our visitors.

Fittingly, my first holiday/shop challenge is the upcoming celebration of Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish New Year for Trees. And fortunately, we have many beautiful items in the shop that honor and celebrate trees and help to highlight the different themes that the holiday evokes: environmentalism, agriculture, ecology, and more.

According to my research (and for those who are unfamiliar as I was), Tu B’Shvat, or the beginning of a new year for trees (originally an accounting for tithes), is celebrated on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat (in 2018, the holiday begins at sundown on January 30 and ends the evening of January 31). Tu B’Shvat may be celebrated with a seder in which participants enjoy dishes featuring the seven fruits of Israel (pomegranates, dates, barley, figs, olives, grapes, and wheat); dried fruit, nuts, grains, and vegetarian or vegan dishes served in environmentally-friendly ways are also common. Tu B’Shvat represents an opportunity for reflection, conversation, and sometimes even action and activism around issues such as conservation, sustainability, personal growth and renewal, and our relationship with the land and physical world.

In addition to items celebrating trees and the natural world in general, Esther’s Place’s Tu B’Shvat display will also incorporate newly available products from metal artist Michael Aram. According to Aram’s website, his products are designed to inspire ritual and ceremony—making them beautiful additions to a contemplative Tu B’Shvat table or celebration. Appropriately, several of our Aram products feature pomegranates, one of the seven fruits of Israel. Examples include a pomegranate mini-pot and pomegranate “catch all” dish. Other nature-inspired Judaica by Aram also feature prominently in the Gift Shop.

We hope you’ll stop by on January 31 to visit the Gift Shop and share your own Tu B’Shvat stories ranging from personal observances to family traditions and environmental projects or goals. Tell us about your favorite Tu B’Shvat recipes while finding the perfect tableware to beautify your Tu B’Shvat table. What better way to look forward to warmer, brighter weather than by stopping by to experience all the Museum and synagogues have to offer, and enjoying our Tu B’Shvat Gift Shop display? And if you can’t make it to the museum, explore Tu B’Shvat photos and other artifacts in our online collection such as this brightly-constructed paper tree and sign from the Yeshivat Rambam collection.

I look forward to celebrating my first Tu B’Shvat as well as the beginnings of what I hope will be a fruitful time at the Jewish Museum of Maryland and Esther’s Place.

 

Posted in jewish museum of maryland

Tagged: Esther's Place , festival of trees , hloidays , Jessica Konigsberg , Michael Aram , museum shop , New Year for Trees , trees , Tu B'Shvat