An Old Postcard with a Tree. A Hope for the New Year.

Pinchas Steiner was an Israeli artist who worked for the Jewish National Fund and Keren Hayesod in the 1940s and 1950s. During that period he created a set of 10 New Year postcards which featured photographs of types of trees growing in the Land of Israel, framed with decorative illustrations in the style of the Bezalel school.

This card is for the palm tree and includes the quote from Judges 4:5 that “Deborah sat under the Palm Tree of Deborah”.  Deborah was a prophetess and a judge who was so trusted and respected, people flocked to her for advice and help.  She held court beneath a palm tree and, where everyone could hear her, warned the Jewish people to leave their evil ways.  The Talmud tells us that Deborah was one of only seven prophetesses in the bible (compared to 48 prophets).  The other six are Sarah, Miriam, Chanah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther.

The back of the postcard also includes a quote from Psalms 92:12 that “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.”  Why a palm tree?  Perhaps it is because palm trees flourish in the desert, under the most challenging of conditions, and so symbolize that the righteous can act morally and with integrity when it is toughest to do so.  This is an important message for all of us now, at this most difficult time.

This postcard in Hebrew wishes a good and blessed year, and that the recipient be signed and sealed in the Book of Life.  On the back it adds “With best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.”

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Monday September 22.  May it be a year of health and happiness for all, one in which justice is dispensed fairly and the righteous do indeed flourish like the palm tree. 

Shana Tova to all.

For more treasures from the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow which appears weekly in the Canadian Jewish News see https://herzlcollection.com/treasure-trove