Celebrating Trees and Spring!

TWO-BIT WHAT?

TU B’SHEVAT—Celebrating Spring!

What do planting trees, eating fruit, celebrating the earth and the New Year all have in common? Tu B’Shevat, that’s what. In case you are wondering, Tu B’Shevat means “the fifteen of Shevat” or the 15th (tu) day of the Hebrew month Shevat which falls sometime in late January or early February according to our secular calendar. In 2015, it occurs on Wednesday, February 4. Actually, it’s the perfect holiday for everyone to celebrate together because there are no religious overtones to wriggle around and make sure everyone is comfortable and nobody feels left out.

And, it is one of the four Jewish New Years—time for a quiz: How many of you can name all four Jewish New Years? How many of you knew there were four Jewish New Years? Read through the rest of this post for the answer!

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF TU B’SHEVAT?

As with everything Jewish there is more than one answer to this question; there is also more than one spelling—sort of like Chanukah. The generally accepted opinion is that Tu B’Shevat was originally an agricultural festival that marked the beginning of spring. In the 17^th century, Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu B’Shevat that is similar to a Passover Seder (seder means order so a seder is essentially a service or program that follows a certain order). Today, many Jews hold modern versions of a Tu B’Shevat seder.

The holiday is also known as the Jewish Arbor Day and has become a tree-planting festival in Israel, in which Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of loved ones and friends.  So, although for most of us in North America who are still digging out of snowstorms, in Israel, Tu B’Shevat signals the beginning of spring. The winter rains are ending and the pink and white almond blossoms are in full bloom, which is why the Rabbis in Mishnah (Code of Jewish Law, 200 CE) instituted Tu B’Shevat and the ensuing festival. Like Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat is a post-Biblical creation of the creation of the Rabbis, part of the system of tithes used to sustain the priestly class and the poor.

The portion relating to the New Year is based upon when a new annual cycle begins according to the Jewish calendar. Most of us assume this is Rosh Hashanah which occurs in the fall, however, in this instance, Tu B’Shevat signals the end of a crop year and therefore the tithes were due as the sap begins to rise and the trees begin to blossom. 

HOW DO WE CELEBRATE TU B’SHEVAT?

I’m so glad you asked! Tu B’Shevat is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons; the biggest is probably because it reminds me that spring really will come again. Even if you live in a climate where you still have snow on the ground, when you start talking about planting trees and harvesting fruit, how can you not become excited about the imminent return of spring? I have already mentioned that Tu B’Shevat, like Passover, is often celebrated with a Seder, and has a haggadah, or service book, but this one is very different than what you may have experienced at Passover.

A Tu B’Shevat Seder is divided into four sections that represent the four seasons. It is also divided into four mystical “spheres” representing the relationships between humans and the earth—Assiya (Actualization), Yetzira (Formation), Beriah (Creation), and Atzilut (Nobility). The Seder is celebrated with a variety of fruits and nuts—generally varieties that are found in the land of Israel—and four glasses of wine (or juice if you have children present!) in varying shades of red, from full red to white. There are many examples that are available on line but I will give you a brief outline of the basic elements here. Then you can go to your favorite search engine and simply insert “Tu B’Shevat Seder” and select your favorite. There are also several available for download on the URJ website, http://www.reformjudaism.org/have-tu-bishvat-seder. 

                                                                                     

As the popularity of holding a Tu B’Shevat seder has grown, so have the number of haggadot, or books that lay out the service. Many contemporary Tu B’Shevat haggadot (plural for haggadah) bring in traditional texts to provide historical context for the rituals. Most of them in which I have participated or led group the fruits into three types:

• fruits with touch outer shells and edible interiors (melons, peanuts, pomegranates, coconuts, citrus, almonds),
• fruits with edible exteriors and inedible pits (dates, olives, plums, peaches, apples, etc.),
• fruits that are entirely edible (berries, figs, grapes, etc.)

There is nothing sacred about this specific list; feel free to adjust according to dietary needs. If you are a nut sensitive family, or if someone in your group is allergic to or sensitive to nuts or any of these fruits, please do not include them. These fruits are chosen because they are said to represent different season and/or ways of being in the world, often following Kabbalistic categories. 

RESOURCES

If you have children in your home, or will be having them at your Tu B’Shevat Seder, PJ Library has several books that are appropriate for your use. You can access them at www.pjlibrary.org (if you have children 6 months-8 years and are not receiving PJ Library books, I strongly encourage you to look into whether or not your community offers them).  Other great resources for interfaith families are the URJ website, Interfaith Family, Jewish Reconstructionist Communities and MyJewishLearning.com. 

As always be cautious when using search engines to make certain you land on websites that are accepting and supportive of interfaith families and engage with all members of the family, not just the ones that are Jewish.

FURTHER CONNECTIONS

One of the many concepts I love about Judaism is the way we are able to connect threads from one holiday to the next and create a tapestry that depicts the whole of the Jewish year. A tradition for many is to plant parsley seeds during the Tu B’Shevat seder in preparation for Passover your seder. I confess that I do this every year and frequently have to purchase parsley since I don’t end up with enough—sometimes it doesn't even germinate—but I keep trying. I enjoy watching it grow in the window through the remainder of the winter as I long for the return of spring!  So, give it a shot and if you really want to have some fun, choose several varieties and make your own pot in which to grow your parsley! 

For those who believed you are genetically incapable of growing anything green, inhabitat.com has a Parsley Grow Pot for $19 in a bamboo pot that appears to be fool proof (I do not get anything for this, I just found it online and it looks like a great idea to me!)

AND FINALLY, THE FOUR NEW YEARS

As promised above, yes, there really are four New Years in a Jewish Year. Remember Judaism is based on a modified lunar calendar (a topic for another blog post) and there are four distinct New Years as follows:

• The first of Nisan—also known in the Torah as the “first” month and the month during which Passover occurs. Like Tu B’Shevat, Passover occurs on the fifteenth of Nisan, usually in mid-March to early April although it may be as late as mid-April.
• Elul is the sixth month of the Jewish year and the New Year for the tithing and counting of animals.
• Tishrei is the seventh month of the year and the month by which the years are counted. Rosh Hashanah (literally the “head of the year”) is the first day of Tishrei; Jewish years are calculated from the creation of Adam. The current year is 5775. Rosh Hashanah also begins the period of The Days of Awe ending with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
• The fourth New Year is Tu B’Shevat, the fifteenth of Shevat on which we honor the earth and celebrate the trees.

So there you have it—four Jewish New Years—you can astound your family and friends with the breadth of your Jewish knowledge.

Be Happy—It’s Tu B’Shevat!