"Look, Mom! Sam Christmas tree ."
"Hmm." I replied, trying my best not to encourage nor to lose a four-year-old daughter while she proudly pointed to her makeshift pyramid of stuffed animals.
is not that there anything wrong with Christmas trees. Although I am Jewish, I can enjoy the holiday decorations this time of year, with all its glitter and charm. And when my daughter would squeal in delight on Christmas fare, I always laughed right along with it.
tree, however, became the source of a growing obsession. She understood that we had a Jewish home and did not adorn the Christmas tree. As a bright and pleasant child, she never claimed the point with me.
But there is always a clear tone of sadness and regret in her voice when she would say,
"Mom, I really like Christmas trees ."
I had briefly considered the idea of Hanukkah Bush, tongue-in-cheek satire on the Christmas tree that is has made its way into a secular Jewish domove.Ideja not sit right with me, iako.Božićno tree by either any other name is still a Christmas tree.
I was thinking about something our rabbi wrote about how the homes filled with love of Jewish tradition throughout the year eliminates the December dilemu.Lijep sense, but what theory, the reality is that apples and honey, sabbath candles and sukka not actually eliminate the Christmas envy of my child too young to appreciate the depth of Jewish tradition.
So I got the idea.
I picked up my daughter from preschool that day.
"So I think about trees," I said as I raised my daughter in her car.
"Really?" she said expectantly. It's almost December, after all, and obsessive four-year-olds are adept at jumping to conclusions.
"No, no Christmas tree." I felt this clearly.
, "Oh?" If he felt any disappointment, it was masked by the intense curiosity.
"I thought it would be nice if we got the Tree of Life." I explained.
"As the Sabbath?" It is the memory of a metaphorical song of the same name, singing our Cantor, when the Torah out of the harbor.
"kind of like that," I continued. "It is a tree we will have in our house throughout the year. We can decorate it for all Jewish holidays, and perhaps even important day for our family too. Such as birthdays. Or mom and dad anniversary ."
I do not think I've ever seen a bigger smile, and my daughter grins some big grins.
Ideally I'd like potted tree of life, but in our home do not get enough natural light to make a sound. We chose artificial ficus with broad leaves. It was a long, bare trunk, and branches, with leaves the color of summer. Nothing at all like Christmas time evergreen.
As we went to the store, we talked about how we'll decorate it.
"Since Hanukkah is soon," I said, "I bet you can hang dreidels on it, and we'll add the lights of Hanukkah as the festival of lights, and oh look -. They have six pointed snowflakes here !"
"And for Rosh Hashanah," my daughter has offered, "We can turn it into an apple tree !"
"This is a great idea," I smiled.
It's hard to miss six feet tall potted ficus protruding košarice.Žena us passing remarked: "What a beautiful tree you girls ."
"This is the tree of life", he praised my daughter. "We'll decorate it for the Jewish holidays throughout the year !"
I am sure that our ficus, ablaze with blue and white lights, can cause a fair deal of drama and horror, gasping from some of my fellow Jews. And to be fair, I am sure that our Tree of Life disproportionately adorned for a relatively small festival of Hanukkah. But we'll see. I sincerely look forward to the light color and ornate masquerade masks for our tree on Purim, and maybe some faux pomegranates, and corn for Sukkot (we keep it that way straight through Thanksgiving.) While Hanukkah gifts, of course, have found their way under the tree life, I think the birthday presents they found their home too. And maybe, if I'm lucky, something special from my husband for the anniversary in the future will find its way to the base of its trunk.
I am a Jew who believes in tradicije.Tradiciju development that respects the past and present recognized.
for us, our tree of life is just that. I hope that will free our children from the envy of lights and trees, while at the same time, in honor of the Jewish home that was burned with a celebration not only in December, but throughout the year.