Jewish Press of Tampa

Tu B’Shevat: So much more than Jewish Arbor Day




 

 

Self-awareness is an important characteristic of any individual. So, I am well aware of the fact that when a Jewish holiday comes around, I say it’s my favorite holiday (except for Tisha B’Av), but this time I really mean it.

Tu B’Shevat is my favorite holiday.

Just a quick refresher for those who don’t know about this holiday which falls on Jan. 17. Tu B’Shevat is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat and is called the “New Year of Trees.” In the Land of Israel there is a 7-year agricultural cycle. The seventh year being the Shmitah or Sabbatical year when the land is required to lie fallow (in fact, this year is a Shmitah year in Israel). Each of the years required a tithe to be given to the Kohanim and Levites in the Temple. As such, it was necessary to know when the fruits that were tithed were from which year. Because Tu B’Shevat is the time when the almond trees begin to bloom in Israel, and since they are the first trees to blossom in springtime there, it was determined that anything which bloomed before the 15th of Shevat fell under the previous year’s tithe, and anything that bloomed after that was considered for the current year’s tithe. In the 17th century, because of the deep, spiritual connection to the natural world, the Kabbalists created a ritual modeled on the Passover Seder to celebrate the trees, which includes eating fruits and nuts.

While we can think of this holiday in its simplest terms as an administrative necessity from days of old or as the Jewish Arbor Day, there is a much deeper meaning to it that perhaps most of us don’t notice. The trials and tribulations of daily life, of work and family that we all face, often keep us from seeing the beauty of the world around us. Tu B’Shevat makes us pause, and is a way to reaffirm that old saying which tells us to “stop and smell the roses.” Indeed, it goes even further.

We all know that plants are alive but, unlike some other religious traditions, Judaism teaches that they also have a soul. OK, I openly admit it … I talk to my trees. I go outside every day and talk to the mango tree in my back yard. And when it’s in bloom, I sit on a bench under my Cape Jasmine tree and breathe in the perfumed air that emanates from its multitude of flowers and thank it for sharing this. No. they don’t talk back to me, but that doesn’t stop me from telling them how beautiful they are and how much I appreciate them. Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav said: “I wish I were worthy to hear the sound of the songs and praises of the plants, how each plant sings a song to the Lord without restraint, without impure thoughts and without expecting a reward. It is enough for them merely to serve God in awe.”

Tu B’Shevat is about so much more than just trees and fruits and nuts. It’s not even about just stopping to smell the roses. Tu B’Shevat, especially in this time of unprecedented environmental catastrophes that are occurring around the world, teaches us that we need to remember our role as caretakers of the planet and protectors of the natural world. There is a beautiful passage in Kohelet Rabbah which says: “In the hour when the Holy One, Blessed be He, created Adam, He took him and let him pass before all the trees in the Garden of Eden and said to him: ‘See my works, how fine and excellent they are! Now all that I have created, I have created for you. Think upon this, and do not corrupt and desolate My world. For if you corrupt it, there is no one to set it right after you.’”

If you don’t attend a Tu B’Shevat Seder, then pack a basket with lots of fruit, nuts and some wine. Go to your back yard or a park and sit under a tree. Ask yourself what you’re doing to fulfill your role as a caretaker of the Earth. Give thanks to God for the beauty that surrounds you. Pay attention to the fruit you eat in a way you don’t do normally. Hold it in your hand. Look deeply at its colors and texture. Recite the blessing, Borei Pri HaEtz. Take a bite and feel its juice on your tongue. Sense its texture in your mouth. And listen closely … very closely; you just might hear the song of the trees as they sing to the Lord.

Rabbinically Speaking is published as a public service by the Jewish Press in cooperation with the Tampa Rabbinical Association which assigns the column on a rotating basis. The views expressed in the column are those of the rabbi and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Jewish Press or the TRA.

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