Tu B'Shvat

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Originally just the day when trees were considered a year older, relevant in the ancient world for tithing purposes—Tu B’Shvat was transformed by the kabbalists of Safed into a celebration of nature, its fruits, and the Divine “tree” reaching toward us. At Tu B’Shvat seders (the four cups of wine borrowed loosely from the Passover seder), revitalized in modern times and inspired with an environmental consciousness, we drink the fruit of the vine and eat many different kinds of fruit from trees—from the tough hard walnut to the luscious pomegranate—evoking different aspects of the Divine and of humanity.

Latest Rituals

“In Shvat, we cross a threshold / into a mysterious realm / hidden within ourselves and the deep interior of trees…”
“There is a tree somewhere, so they say. / And that tree has its roots in a culture / that spreads back millennia.”
A special tree inspires a sacred moment.
“May our planting cause multiple levels of life to abundantly flourish…”
“temples of leaves / firmaments of roots”
A ritual for the holy work of seeding your garden or farm
This ritual can be used as a way to enter into a Tu B’shvat seder or teaching session or as an intention-setting or witnessing ritual for an environmental action
“Beneath her tree we sought the truth”

Tekhine connecting the mitzvah of honoring our parents with the mitzvah of caring for Mother Earth

“We struggle to rejoice in budding trees”

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