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Planting, Seders and Psalms: Practices for Shevat

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Tree of Life Concept by Ketzirah

Editors Note: we will be having a Tu B’Shevat themed service on Tuesday, February 3rd at 8PM EST at OneShul.org

When most people think of Shevat, they think of Tu b’Shevat, the “new year” of the trees.  Tu b’Shevat is one of the four new years in the Jewish religion.  What began thousands of years ago as a tax day on fruit trees, has grown into the Jewish arbor day and/or a spiritual opportunity to explore new growth and our connection to the environment.  Like so many of our holidays there are so many layers, so Tu b’Shevat can offer an amazing array of in-roads to exploring Jewish practice.

Tree Planting
It’s no wonder that Jews love Tu b’Shevat, after all we call the Torah the “tree of life.”  In ancient Israel we even planted trees when children were born to commemorate their birth and then these trees were used as the chuppah poles at their weddings. That’s just one of many amazing tree-based traditions in Judaism! If you want to plant a tree for Tu b’Shevat, there are lots of organizations that you can donate to that will help you with that, since it’s a lousy time of year to actually plant trees in most parts of the world. If this is what you are looking for, then check out Casey Trees and Jewish National Fund. I’m sure there are tons of other great organizations, and I hope you’ll share your favorite in the comments.

Seders
By now most people have heard of a Tu b’Shevat seder, even if they’ve never been to one.  So where do you start?  Thankfully, there are many free, and really good, Tu b’Shevat seders available online.  Here are few of my favorites to explore:

If you are a more DIY kind of person, check out this Tu B’Shevat Seder Outline, from Kolel.  It gives you a bit of a mix and match set up that allows you to easily create your own Tu B’Shevat seder.

Psalms
I learned about the tradition of reciting the fifteen “Psalms of Ascent” (120-134) during the first fifteen days of Shevat from my teacher, RK’Jill Hammer.  She has taken this practice further by associating a specific type of tree with each psalm.  Since the psalms have become a big part of my daily spiritual practices right now, I’m very excited to explore this concept this year.

You could even create prayer trees by writing or printing out pieces of the psalms of ascent and tying them to trees in your yard.  Imagine if you write the psalms on pieces of ribbon or fabric, how pretty the tree would look!  You could leave the fabric up just during Shevat, or if you use unbleached cotton or muslin, you could even just leave it to disintegrate naturally over time.

Final thought…

Whatever you do, take some time to appreciate Judaism’s long and complicated history with trees.  You might even want to take time to reflect on your own relationship with trees and nature.  No matter where you live, take some time to appreciate these amazing partners in life.  Without trees, we couldn’t breath, have paper, firewood, and a million other things!

Ketzirah is a Kohenet, Celebrant, and Artist.  She works with individuals and groups to explore, discover, and create meaningful rituals and ritual artwork to mark moments in life.

What a Buddha Hand Made Me Realize About Tu B’Shvat

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Tu B’Shvat is the best holiday a Jewish environmentalist could ask for. The New Year for the Trees gets us to think about the natural world, and indeed I’ve enjoyed that focus at Hazon’s Tu B’Shvat seders the last couple of years. However, my Tu B’Shvat observance has often been at odds with my general environmental outlook on food. Whereas I normally prioritize locally grown produce from a farmers market, for Tu B’Shvat I adore exotic, varied fruits. Celebrating the full bounty of nature isn’t consistent with limiting your carbon footprint if that oddball fruit had to travel 3,000 miles to get to you.

My love for Tu B’Shvat dates back to my freshman year of college, when a Chabad Shabbat dinner featured 44 different types of fruits and nuts instead of the regular brisket or chicken. Since then I’ve hosted a series of non-seder gatherings in which I tried to present a diverse array of fruits. At the Tu B’Shvat Disorder! ’08, I served coconut, horned melon, persimmons, pineapple, uglifruit, honeydew, cantaloupe, bananas, grapes, apples, peaches, tangerines, olives, starfruit, figs, dates, cherries, blueberries, kiwis, pistachios, almonds, pine nuts, cashews, walnuts, filberts, and Brazil nuts. Let’s just say that it hadn’t all been grown locally in Virginia in January.

This year’s I-can’t-stop-thinking-about-it fruit is the Buddha hand, also known as a fingered citron. (Many readers will be familiar with the etrog, another type of citron, which is used on Sukkot.) I’d seen the Buddha hand at a NYC Whole Foods store a few times before, but I’d never found any legitimate reason to buy this masterpiece of citrus. When I spotted a California-grown Buddha hand that appeared to be giving me the finger on Thursday—so close to Tu B’Shvat—I knew I just had to spend $3.14 for it.

The Buddha hand was a big hit at a Shabbat potluck the following night. We started amputating fingers off the Buddha hand left and right. One guy ate an entire finger (including the rind), and he put a little nub in his wine and called it sangria. Several of us gnawed into the flesh at the base of the fingers instead. We passed around the opened Buddha hand to appreciate the scent. After the night was over, I was able to salvage the base of the hand for some flesh. I cut some of it up and put it in tea, and as of this writing, I’m not sure what I’ll do with the rest.

The Buddha hand was fun, but did this fruit—which we did not even consume to a significant extent—really help us to respect the Earth?

In celebrating Tu B’Shvat, it’s important to have foods that are native to Israel and that represent the different categories of fruits and nuts: those that have edible insides but inedible outsides, those that have edible outsides but inedible insides, and those that are edible throughout. Beyond that, if you have a choice and you truly want this to be a holiday that is good for the Earth, buy local when possible.

PunkTorah Radio: Kosher Vegan Cookbooks and Birthday Trees

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This week is all about Kosher Vegans, Tu B’Shvat and a big OneShul announcement!

PunkTorah Radio: Kosher Vegan Cookbooks and Birthday Trees

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Shabbat Shirah: Feed the Birds

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Feed-Birds-Winter-Decorations-Edible-Decor-Birds-Will-Love-4176

During the month of Shevat, we have a special Shabbat — Shabbat Shirah, which the Shabbat where we read Parsha Beshalach (Ex 13:17-17:16). There are many named Shabbatot during the year, Shabbat Gadol, Shabbat Shuvah, etc. etc. Shabbat Shirah is more than just a Shabbat where we read a “special” Torah portion, I mean — aren’t all Parshot special? Ostensibly, Shabbat Shirah, Sabbath of Song, is called this because we read the “Song at the Sea” (Exodus 15). But like in so much of Jewish life, we’ve built and built on that.

It’s an Ashkenazi tradition to feed the birds on Shabbat Shirah. On the Sabbath of Song, we provide sustenance for the singers of the natural world. Right now I’m studying the Perek Shirah, a text that teaches us to learn Torah from the natural world, which is making this practice very present for me.

“The soul [Read more…]

Shevat: The Lesson of Asher

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~Excerpt from Shevat Guide – Subscribe for Free and Receive the Complete Guide Each Month ~

(Cross Posted From PeelAPom.com)

Original design I created for my nephew Asher's bris kippah. My nephew Asher was supposed to be born in Shevat, but came a few days early last year!

“And Leah said: ‘Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy.’ And she called his name Asher.”  (Gen 30:13)

Asher was the eighth son of Jacob through Leah’s handmaid, Zilpah.  According to the Torah, midrash and rabbinical tradition Asher is a symbol of happiness.  There seems to be fairly strong consensus on this.   From his naming (Gen 30:13) to his final blessing from Yisrael (Gen 49:20) – Asher was blessed with happiness.

Asher’s emblem is the olive tree, which makes sense since the tribe of Asher was situated in an area that had them responsible for the production of olives and olive oil in ancient Israel.  The tribe of Asher was known for having an abundance of male children and daughters so beautiful they were sought out by “princes and priests.” (Jewish Encyclopedia)   Asher is also known for his daughter,  Serach whose goodness was rewarded with eternal life and is said to walk among us this day like Elijah.

Shevat is a month where, in a non-leap year, we should begin to see the signs of spring emerging by the end of it – or at least know it is coming so very soon – and this makes most people very happy.   We celebrate the return of spring through the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, which is one of the four traditional Jewish new years. Asher seems to be associated with delicious food, too, “As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.”(Gen 49:20)  What a perfect correspondence to the sense of the month, Taste, and the Kabbalistic tradition of a Tu B’Shevat seder that has become so popular in recent years.  Food is one of our simplest pleasures in life!

A month of simple happiness – is that possible?  So many months of the year offer us challenges that seem insurmountable.  What kind of a challenge is happiness?

The mazal, the astrological sign of the month, gives us some clues to the challenge of happiness.  The sign of the month is the D’li (דְלִי) – the Bucket (Aquarius). How do you contain happiness?  How do you give fluid emotions like joy a shape?  You need a container – not to close it in, but allow you to carry it forward and share it.

Another lesson of Asher is the line between right and wrong.  Can something be wrong if it makes us happy?  There is the question between a moment of happiness and true life-long happiness.  The name Asher is clearly related to the word Ashera.  Wait…how can a beloved son of Jacob have anything to do with a forbidden ancient goddess that the Torah repeatedly warns us of?!?  Maybe the issue here is the vessel of choice – not what was contained in it.  She is a tree of life (עץ חיים הי), but we do not need the image of tree to worship.

I can think of a lot of things that make me happy for a moment, but do not sustain ongoing happiness for myself or anyone else.  Asher is also seems like it must related to the word “asher” – meaning “that” or “which.”  Could it be that something which enables something else is the key to true happiness?  Does sustainable happiness need to be able to connect two things together?

Happiness is simple and it is complex – just like Jewish life.  The lesson of Asher for Shevat is to explore true happiness.  What form does it need and what forms will it take on?  What is the difference between a moment of happiness and a life of true joy?

The lesson of Asher is to find happiness olive tree that can sustain generations, not just the olive that feeds you alone for a moment.

That’s what I find.  What about you?

Want more Insights into Shevat?

~Excerpt from Shevat Guide – Subscribe for Free and Receive the Complete Guide Each Month ~

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