Tobin Mitnick LOVES trees, and we should too! Courtesy of Tobin Mitnick.I never in my wildest existence believed I would be so entertained by a TikToker who posts about trees. TREES. Those rather large plants that have been around forever. Those wooden plants we used to climb as kids. Those natural parts of the ecosystem with histories and habitats of their own. Trees are spiritual in a strange sense because of their longevity. We all have those memories as children where we gasped upon seeing the rings on a stump and being told that the number of rings was the age of the tree. Trees can (hopefully) live for a long time, but there’s something even more beguiling about them. As we go about our busy, day-to-day lives, trees overwatch us. They gaze upon us and observe our joys and struggles. They are like a subtle reminder that we exist on this planet and should be proud of that. Trees’ never-ending presence is like a strange form of encouragement. I’m speaking figurately, of course, since trees don’t talk. (And I’m very glad that they don’t because that would be horrifying.)
JEWS LOVE TREES, a hilarious, very quirky TikTok channel, has reawakened something deep inside my psyche, some long-lost appreciation of nature that was locked up for too long. Now don’t get me wrong: I am totally a nature boy. I love going on hikes and getting closer to nature, from climbing a hill in Wissahickon or reading my book outside under the windy branches of my hundred-year-old tree in my hometown. However, do I actually admire the trees and bushes that surround me on these excursions? I wouldn’t say so. I think the older and more stressed out I become, the more I forget about the blessings of this planet. Ordinary TikTok users may skip JEWS LOVE TREES because they’re not into environmental science. However, the host of the channel, Tobin Mitnick, isn’t a college professor. His videos aren’t tutorials about the history of trees that you’re expected to memorize. While informative, Mitnick’s content is hilarious and oddly moving. This is a comedian whose passion ignites a deeper consideration for this planet. I laugh at his content, but I also go, “Wow. Trees really ARE important.”
With over 255,000 TikTok followers and 119,000 Instagram followers, Mitnick has become what I call a “COVID Content Creator,” meaning his popularity definitely increased during lockdown. It all started with a TikTok video of a pinecone, titled “Casual Pine Cone Review.”
“Hi. My name is Tobin Mitnick, and I’m a Jew who loves trees,” he always begins in his videos.
In his pinecone review, he pours himself a glass of wine and talks about ponderosa pines, limber pines, sugar cone pines, coulter pines, and so much more. His sense of humor is deeply engaging. Many of us go on TikTok for prank videos, music covers, cooking videos, etc. but a video about pinecones? It sounds ridiculous, but believe me or not, Mitnick makes it work!
After his pinecone review, his other video, one where he defends 2020’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Spruce, became another hit.
“I rarely become angry,” he dryly states. “But today, I am angry.”
In the 55-second video, Mitnick holds a cone and argues that the tree, a poor-looking Norway spruce looking like it’s on the brink of death, is not a metaphor for the “horror” of 2020 or one of the tree characters from The Lord of the Rings.
As an actor, writer, and comedian, Mitnick’s funny quips are no surprise, but why the fascination with trees? Growing up in rural Pennsylvania with his equally plant-loving father, Mitnick was astonished by an apple tree and magnolia planted in front of his barn.
“I thought, wow,” he says in an interview with HeyAlma. “These trees just seem mystical and unreal.”
Upon reading an entry in the World Book Encyclopedia, an entry with a picture of men on horseback with trees around them, Mitnick’s love of trees soared. He was hooked, from the various types of trees to their histories, facts, sizes, etc. positively everything! Mitnick was officially a nature boy, a VERY curious one, I should add.
“I’ve always been really fascinated with naturalistic stuff,” he says. “I was the kind of kid who went through phases: sharks for two years, minerals for two years…”
Two wildly different topics, of course. (Even though trees are also very dangerous.) Instead of becoming a professor of environmental science, however, Mitnick moved to New York to become an actor and later Los Angeles. His background in improv meshes perfectly with his knowledge of trees. I always say the best thing about new media platforms is when a user can both educate AND entertain its audience. That’s exactly what Tobin does. Take a look at his list of “things” that he believes in on his website:
- Growth, in whatever form (learning, empathy, trees, whatever), is the great uniter of people and the great stimulus for creativity.
- Giving a sh*t about a protagonist is the backbone of a good story. Everything else flows from this.
He’s meaningful but also super sarcastic.
“I love the idea of agricultural festivals, and I wish we had more of them,” he tells HeyAlma. “I’d like to make us Jews more hobbit-like, if we’re not there already.”
I could go on and on about the videos Mitnick has made. There are, for example, his “This Week in Trees” news content. In one video, he discusses a range of “tree” news from around the globe, from King Charles III’s custom of “shaking hands” with a new tree at the coronation to a pregnant loggerhead turtle that was lodged between two palm trees and saved by the local coastal wildlife club.
In other videos, Mitnick recreates famous fictional stories like Titanic and Pride and Prejudice but with pinecones. (The latter is titled “Pine and Prejudice.”) There’s also his video advocating for “tree-punning.” What is tree-punning exactly? Examples:
- “Leaf it alone!”
- “Genus Christ.”
- “Walnut me?” (*instead of “Why not me?”)
Mitnick is outrageous but also very well-endearing. Take his video of him planting a tree for the birth of his second daughter, for example. Per Jewish custom, he plants a cypress. (Cedars are customary for boys.) He says something that really struck me.
“I’ve planted many trees for both the living and the dead on my hills, and I love how they can coexist in conversation with each other.”
This reminded me of the substantial healing that trees can provide. These aren’t just stumps in the ground that we walk by. Trees are metaphors for life and death, resilience and durability. Mitnick isn’t just being silly all the time on JEWS LOVE TREES. He inspires us to take a moment and really look at this passion of his. While Mitnick’s topic may sound silly on paper, the comedian’s objective has crafted itself into an endlessly entertaining TikTok series.
@jewslovetrees Casual Pine Cone Review. #fyp #jewishtiktok #plantsoftiktok #bonsai #myhobby #treetok #treehive #learnathome
To learn more about JEWS LOVE TREES, including Tobin Mitnick’s new book, Must Love Trees: An Unconventional Guide, visit Tobin-Mitnick.com.
Follow JEWS LOVE TREES on TikTok.