Tu B'Shevat Seder January 2022
Friday, January 14, 6:00 p.m.
Zoom only.
RSVP here by 1:00 p.m. on January 14 for zoom link.
We celebrate the four worlds of Jewish mystical thought by eating fruits and nuts that symbolize each dimension. The Tu B'shvat seder this year will be to celebrate the birthday of the trees and also to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day through reading, prayer and healing.
Tu B'Shevat Haggadah (to use during the seder)
List of items to have at the seder:
- Small piece of chocolate or raisin for mindfulness meditation
- For the physical world - fruit that require protection, whose peel or shell cannot be eaten (almonds, walnuts, oranges, coconuts, Brazil nuts, pomegranates, pineapples)
- For the emotional world - fruit whose pits or seeds cannot be eaten (peaches, plums, dates, avocados, cherries, apricots, olives)
- For the world of creation - fruit that need no protective coverings or protected centers (figs, grapes, pears, apples)
- For the world of spirit - nothing to eat, but perhaps smells such as spices
- Bottles of dark and light wine/juices
Learn more about Tu B'Shevat
In the Jewish Calendar there are four new years:
- The first day of Nisan, in the early spring is the new year for ordering the Jewish holidays and festivals. In ancient times, it was also for counting the reigns of the kings in Israel.
- The first day of Elul in late summer was for calculating animal tithes to the ancient priestly class, similar to how we use April 15th as tax day.
- The first day of Tishrei is Rosh Hashanah.
- And the 15th day of Shevat in late winter is Tu B'shevat, the new year of the trees. In biblical time the middle of the month of Shevat also marked the traditional turning point between the winter rainy season and the beginning of Spring.
It is a small holiday but a wonderful one that has grown and expanded through the ages. Many Jews today celebrate Tu B'Shevat by eating new fruits, donating money to environmental organizations and to the planting of trees. In the 16th century Jewish kabbalists in the city of Safed developed a seder in Tu B'shevat to share fruits, nuts, wines and juices that symbolized the four worlds of mystic Jewish thought.
Join us from your home with your own fruits, nuts and wine or juice for the seder (live link) for our celebration of the "New Year of the Trees" with song, meditation, and mindful eating.