Tu b 'Shevat: a Celebration of Nature

Tu b’Shevat has been called Jewish Arbor Day. It is also called the New Year for the Trees. The Mishnah teaches us that there are four new year festivals in Judaism: the first day of Nissan, the new year for kings; the first day of Elul, the new year for tithing; the first day of Tishri, Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the world; and the fifteenth day of Shevat, Tu b’Shevat, the birthday of the trees.

This year Tu b’Shevat falls on Tuesday, January 25. Even though it will likely not feel much like spring in Birmingham, Israel’s rainy winter season will be ending soon, and the first buds will begin to appear on the almond trees, heralding the arrival of spring. The Biblical system of tithing fruits used this date, the fifteenth of the month of Shevat, to distinguish between fruits of one year and the next, establishing a “tax year” for fruit. One of the customs of Tu b’Shevat is to eat a fruit that you have not yet eaten that year.

In the 16th century, the kabbalists (mystics) of Safed created a Tu b’Shevat seder loosely modeled after the Passover seder. It includes drinking four cups of wine and eating at least fifteen kinds of fruit, especially ones that grow in the Land of Israel (such as apples, almonds, carob, and figs). Sometimes the participants also eat challah, sing and read appropriate poems, stories, and psalms.

In modern times, our ever-growing interest in environmental issues has given Tu b’Shevat even greater prominence. Tu b’Shevat is a perfect time to examine our relationship with the natural world. At this time of year, many people plant trees in Israel by donating money to the Jewish National Fund. We can also plant trees locally and participate in other activities celebrating nature’s beauty and importance to our lives.

 

Upcoming Holidays

Chanukah
This year, the first of the eight nights of Chanukah is December 7 .

The Story of Chanukah
The events which we recall at Chanukah took place in the second century BCE. According to the Book of Maccabees, the Syrian king Antiochus had attempted to unify his kingdom (which included Judea) by insisting that all of his subjects follow one religion – the worship of Zeus. Refusing to accept this intolerance, a small band of Jews fought and won against the Syrians. This struggle was the first fight for religious freedom in human history.

The Maccabees (Jewish rebels) reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem and established an annual commemoration of this event, to be called Chanukah, meaning dedication. The Talmud recounts that these Jews cleaned up the defiled Temple, and rekindled the eternal light, but there was only enough oil to last for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days – enough time to replenish their oil supply and keep the eternal light burning.

How We Celebrate Chanukah
Today, we look to Chanukah as a time to celebrate our religious freedom. Each night of Chanukah, we light a new candle in a menorah (candelabra) and most families give gifts (especially to the children). We eat foods cooked in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried jelly-filled doughnuts rolled in sugar) to remind us of the miracle of the Temple oil.

How to Light the Menorah
Place one new candle in the menorah each night of Chanukah, increasing one candleper night (plus the shamash , the helper candle). Candles should be placed from right to left. Light the shamash first and use it to light from left to right.

How to Play Dreidel
A traditional game for Chanukah is the dreidel game. A dreidel is a four-sided top, with a Hebrew letter on each side. The letters are nun, gimel, hey, and shin. They stand for the phrase, “A great miracle happened there,” referring to the miracle of the Temple oil (lasting for eight days when it was only enough for one day).

The game starts with each player having a set number of pennies, nuts, raisins, or candy (sometimes gelt , chocolate coins), and a pile in the middle, called the pot. Taking turns, one person spins at a time. What happens depends on which side of the dreidel is facing up when it falls.

Nun stands for nothing (nisht in Yiddish), so the player does nothing. Gimel stands for all (gantz in Yiddish), so the player takes everything in the pot. Hey stands for half (halb in Yiddish), so the player takes half of what is in the pot. Shin stands for put in (shtel in Yiddish), so the player puts one in the pot.



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