Celebrating the Holiday: Tu B'Shvat

Tu B'Shevat is a day described in the Mishna as the New Year for the trees, one of the four New Years in the Jewish calendar. Can you imagine paradise without trees? Or summer camp? Is it any wonder that God chose to put the first people in a garden of trees? According to the tradition, tending to the trees was Adam's and Eve's only divinely ordained task.

The Hebrew letters Tet and Vav, which spell Tu, have a number value of 15. Tu B'Shevat means "the 15th of Shevat".

The Rabbis have taught us that people's personalities differ as fruits do. Do you know anyone who has a "shell"? A native born Israeli is called a sabra, after a cactus fruit that is hard on the outside and sweet on the inside. Can you guess why?

At the beginning of the seder, put a white carnation or stalk of celery in a vase. Add red food coloring. By the end of the seder, you will see the miracle of Tu B'Shevat.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai said, "If you are holding a seedling in your hand, and you hear that the Messiah is coming, plant the seedling and then go to greet the Messiah." In some ways, maintaining the environment is more important than messianic redemption.

What is Tu'B'Shevat?

The Jewish mystical tradition has always viewed the entire cycle of the Jewish year as a seamless tapestry of the textures and the contours of each celebration neatly blending into one another.

This tradition presents Tu B'Shevat, conventionally known as the Jewish New Year for the Trees, as an essential "turn" from the season of darkness (winter-Chanukah) to the season of light (spring-Passover); from the era of darkness (exile) to the era of light (redemption).

Tu B'Shevat celebrates the ethereal divine spark which brings forth new life. Buds that will bring forth fragrant blossoms appear on the trees in Israel at Tu B'Shevat. The fragrance turns us away from the dark months of winter when we are consoled by the small light of the Chanukah menorah toward a new beginning.

We inhale deeply the blossoms of new life at Tu B'Shevat, say the mystics, for the sweet fragrance of God's creation.

What do we do on Tu B'Shevat?

Winter is a wondertime for a celebration, especially an affirmation of the coming of spring and the renewal of life. And so, the Tu B'Shevat seder was originated by the 16th century Kabbalists. There was singing and dancing and fruit-tasting.

Preparing the Tu'B'Shevat Seder!

Do involve your children in the preparations! They may make wall hangings, place cards, decorations, set the table, help peel and cut up the fruit.

(Hint: Hide a walnut at the beginning of the seder. Whoever finds the walnut at the end receives a prize.) You many also wish to serve cookies and cakes, or even a light supper in conjunction with the seder.