Rabbi & Rebbetzin's Corner February 2025

Shalom Mishpocha,

        It’s February, hard to believe how fast January flew by! February has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the leap day. February is the third and last month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. February got its name from the Roman month Februarius, named after the Latin term februum, which means "purification", via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar.

        Sunday, February 2nd, 2025, is Groundhog Day. On this day in mid-winter, the groundhog awakens from a long winter’s nap and goes outside of his den to see if he sees his shadow. This tradition is big, on an otherwise cold and dreary mid-winter’s day. According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow (a sunny morning), there will be six more weeks of winter. He then returns to his den and goes back to sleep. If, however, he does not see his shadow (cloudy days), he plays around outside of his hole for a while. If he does not see his shadow, spring is just around the corner. The Groundhog’s Day comes from German roots. In the early 1800s, German immigrants to America brought the tradition of predicting winter weather on February 2. In their native Germany, they used Hedgehogs to predict the weather. As they settled in the hills of Pennsylvania, they began the tradition of using the Groundhog to predict the arrival of Spring.

February is a quite month for us, comprised of the biblical months of Shevat and Adar. Wednesday, February 12th at sunset through Thursday February 13th at sunset is Tu BiShvat! Tu BiShvat is a Rabbinical Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is also called Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot, literally "New Year of the Trees". The day is celebrated in modern Israel as an ecological awareness day, and trees are planted in celebration. This day is akin to our Arbor Day celebrated in April!

February is Black History month. The year 2025 marks the 100-year anniversary of the creation of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) and Maids by labor organizer and civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph, was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). BSCP members played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s and 1950s. E. D. Nixon, a BSCP member and the most militant spokesperson for the rights of African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama for most of the 1940s and 1950s, exemplified the leadership that the union provided.

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. incorporated issues outlined by Randolph’s March on Washington Movement such as economic justice into the Poor People’s Campaign, which he established in 1967. For King, it was a priority for Black people to be considered full citizens. Being a Pullman porter was one of the better paid and socially regarded positions available to African Americans, the Pullman porters contributed to the growth of the Black middle class. Many famous African Americans were former porters or descendants of Pullman porters. These include North Pole explorer Matthew Henson, Jamaican writer Claude McKay, and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. If you want to learn more about the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters, who quietly got their start in the heart of Harlem, you can check out the 1982 documentary film: “Miles of Smiles: Years of Struggle” on YouTube. Take the opportunity this month to honor the history and accomplishments of our fellow Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our nation’s history.

Blessings and Shalom,

Rabbi and Rebbetzin Carlson