The Tu B'Shevat seder is a celebration of our relationship with nature and with fruit trees in particular, and a time for reflection. Today, as we celebrate together, let us envision ourselves as partners in shaping, cultivating, and healing the natural world. The Tu B'Shevat Seder is split into four sections, each reflecting the seasons and symbolizing different aspects of the trees and our own lives. Each section is connected to one of the four worlds of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, and represents the transition from the most physical to the most spiritual.
What do you put on your Seder plate to represent modern plagues?
While we might no longer wander the desert, we continue to tell stories of oppression and liberation continue the world over. Here are examples of items I have put on my seder plate in Toronto, to acknowledge the experiences of the people who have joined me at my kitchen table, to those who have been able to make my seders possible in innumerable and both tangible and intangible ways, and to those who suffer injustice and carry the burdens of modern day life in ways that might be invisible to those of us who benefit from their hardships.
- sweetgrass braid to represent issues Indigenous communities face and for teachings we have received
- an item to represent eco racism (on my plate, specifically petroleum's impact in Chemical Valley and the people of Aamjiwnaang):
- lollipop for school shootings in the US
- locked lock for merciless and inhumane prison systems and unjust justice systems
- olive for Palestine
- orange for those who have traditionally been and continue to be excluded, marginalized, unrepresented, underrepresented, and misrepresented in our Jewish communities
- a sticker that expressed my political beliefs
- water for water -- there are over 660 water boil advisories in Canada, almost entirely in Indigenous communities
- injera for Eritreans and other Africans in Israel who contribute so much and are repeatedly attacked by the state
- chocolate for food supply chains and the amount of injustice that fuels their ability to thrive and for me to be fed without question or disruption
- a joint for decriminalization of drugs and the need for restorative justice to communities of colour that have been harmed by the war on drugs
- my passport/permanent resident card on there to represent immigrants, migrant workers, and people whose lives are divided by borders and live in limbo
New additions:
- a credit card on there to represent debt and modern slavery
- hot pepper/chili sauce to represent police violence and torture tactics like the use of pepper spray and mace
- a bandaid to represent the need for better healthcare systems in the US
- a spoon for disability justice
- newspaper clipping to recognize the vital role of the media in reporting, fact checking, and dispelling untruths and growing media deserts
- a piece of fabric to represent homemade masks and the brave and tireless work of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
- car keys to represent a reliance on pipelines and oil and the devastation on the environment and Indigenous people (or use bike keys or a transit pass to discuss ways we can reduce our carbon footprint)
- a piece of copper or gold to represent mining injustice -- Canada is home to 75% of the global mining economy and is a significant source of wealth in Toronto
- an ice cube for climate change (Hazon)
- artichoke for interfaith families
- a potato chip in lieu of potato for food desserts (Progressive Jewish Alliance's Food Desert Seder Plate)
- Strawberry for missing and murdered indigenous women
- Vitamin C to present the opiod overdose crisis
- Tomato for people who grow our food and face unsafe and unjust working conditions, particularly migrant labourers in Canada
- An eyemask for shmita
Sometimes my items take up more than one plate and some items I spend more time on that others. Whether it is one thing or several plates' worth, do what is meaningful and honest at your table.
What do you put on yours?
Named for the 15th day of the month of Shevat, this festival is known as the New Year of the Trees or the Tree's Birthday. Although it's hard to believe when you live in New England. this time of year is beginning of spring in the Middle East. The first almond blossoms have opened and the sap in the trees is beginning to rise. Therefore, it's traditional to eat fruits from Israel on Tu B'Shevat: figs, dates, grapes, olives, pomegranates. It's also traditional to eat fruits you haven't tasted in a long time (or ever), and to say the Shehechiyanu (a prayer for experiencing something new.) While the holiday has changed over the centuries, today in the U.S., it is seen as a time to celebrate nature and affirm our relationship to the Earth.
Activities Take a walk with friends or family. Plant a tree or some seeds. Make a family donation to your favorite environmental cause. Another beautiful action that is becoming more and more common is to have a Tu B'Shevat seder. In the 16th century, Kabbalists, the Jewish mystics, created this seder with songs, readings, wine and fruits. Like the Passover seder, this one uses experiential learning, four cups of wine, and special foods. Each cup of wine represents different aspects of the fruit tree and fo ourselves. As the seder progresses, we change the color of the wine in the cups (like the changing of the seasons) - from the whiteness of winter to the fullness of spring. The color gets more and more red and we look forward to the fully red wine of the Passover seder. Of course, there are many interpretations and ways to find meaning in a Tu B'Shevat seder. The cups can represent the tree's growth from seed to sapling, to continued growth, and to bearing fruit. Or they can symbolize the kinds of relationships we can have with Nature and with each other, even with God. There are four directions, the four seasons, and the four elements - all are possible interpretations. The traditional Tu B'Shevat seder also includes a special order for eating different kinds of fruits, each kind representing our own spiritual growth. Before eating each kind of fruit, one thing some people do is to ask themselves or each other a spiritual question related to that kind of fruit. The seder here follows that model. However you celebrate Tu B'Shevat, this holiday is an opportunity to savor and appreciate the bounty of this world, and to give thanks for all the ways that trees provide us with food, shelter, beauty, air and valuable life lessons.
--
Adapted from the following resources:
Trees, Creation, and Creativity: A Hillel Tu BiSh’vat Seder (Publication by the Hillel Foundation); The Trees Are Davening: A Tu BiSh’vat Haggadah Celebrating Our Kinship with the Trees and the Earth - Dr. Barak Gale and Dr. Ami Goodman (Publication by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life); Seder Tu Bishvat: The Festival of Trees – Adam Fisher (Publication by Central Conference of American Rabbis – 1989); Kesher: Berkely’s Reform Chavurah – Tu B’Shevat Seder.
Many thanks to Rabbi David Seidenberg (www.neohasid.org) for his help and input.
The Tu B'Shevat seder is a celebration of our relationship with nature and with fruit trees in particular, and a time for reflection. Today, as we celebrate together, let us envision ourselves as partners in shaping, cultivating, and healing the natural world. The Tu B'Shevat Seder is split into four sections, each reflecting the seasons and symbolizing different aspects of the trees and our own lives. Each section is connected to one of the four worlds of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, and represents the transition from the most physical to the most spiritual.
What do you put on your Seder plate to represent modern plagues?
While we might no longer wander the desert, we continue to tell stories of oppression and liberation continue the world over. Here are examples of items I have put on my seder plate in Toronto, to acknowledge the experiences of the people who have joined me at my kitchen table, to those who have been able to make my seders possible in innumerable and both tangible and intangible ways, and to those who suffer injustice and carry the burdens of modern day life in ways that might be invisible to those of us who benefit from their hardships.
- sweetgrass braid to represent issues Indigenous communities face and for teachings we have received
- an item to represent eco racism (on my plate, specifically petroleum's impact in Chemical Valley and the people of Aamjiwnaang):
- lollipop for school shootings in the US
- locked lock for merciless and inhumane prison systems and unjust justice systems
- olive for Palestine
- orange for those who have traditionally been and continue to be excluded, marginalized, unrepresented, underrepresented, and misrepresented in our Jewish communities
- a sticker that expressed my political beliefs
- water for water -- there are over 660 water boil advisories in Canada, almost entirely in Indigenous communities
- injera for Eritreans and other Africans in Israel who contribute so much and are repeatedly attacked by the state
- chocolate for food supply chains and the amount of injustice that fuels their ability to thrive and for me to be fed without question or disruption
- a joint for decriminalization of drugs and the need for restorative justice to communities of colour that have been harmed by the war on drugs
- my passport/permanent resident card on there to represent immigrants, migrant workers, and people whose lives are divided by borders and live in limbo
New additions:
- a credit card on there to represent debt and modern slavery
- hot pepper/chili sauce to represent police violence and torture tactics like the use of pepper spray and mace
- a bandaid to represent the need for better healthcare systems in the US
- a spoon for disability justice
- newspaper clipping to recognize the vital role of the media in reporting, fact checking, and dispelling untruths and growing media deserts
- a piece of fabric to represent homemade masks and the brave and tireless work of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
- car keys to represent a reliance on pipelines and oil and the devastation on the environment and Indigenous people (or use bike keys or a transit pass to discuss ways we can reduce our carbon footprint)
- a piece of copper or gold to represent mining injustice -- Canada is home to 75% of the global mining economy and is a significant source of wealth in Toronto
- an ice cube for climate change (Hazon)
- artichoke for interfaith families
- a potato chip in lieu of potato for food desserts (Progressive Jewish Alliance's Food Desert Seder Plate)
- Strawberry for missing and murdered indigenous women
- Vitamin C to present the opiod overdose crisis
- Tomato for people who grow our food and face unsafe and unjust working conditions, particularly migrant labourers in Canada
- An eyemask for shmita
Sometimes my items take up more than one plate and some items I spend more time on that others. Whether it is one thing or several plates' worth, do what is meaningful and honest at your table.
What do you put on yours?
Named for the 15th day of the month of Shevat, this festival is known as the New Year of the Trees or the Tree's Birthday. Although it's hard to believe when you live in New England. this time of year is beginning of spring in the Middle East. The first almond blossoms have opened and the sap in the trees is beginning to rise. Therefore, it's traditional to eat fruits from Israel on Tu B'Shevat: figs, dates, grapes, olives, pomegranates. It's also traditional to eat fruits you haven't tasted in a long time (or ever), and to say the Shehechiyanu (a prayer for experiencing something new.) While the holiday has changed over the centuries, today in the U.S., it is seen as a time to celebrate nature and affirm our relationship to the Earth.
Activities Take a walk with friends or family. Plant a tree or some seeds. Make a family donation to your favorite environmental cause. Another beautiful action that is becoming more and more common is to have a Tu B'Shevat seder. In the 16th century, Kabbalists, the Jewish mystics, created this seder with songs, readings, wine and fruits. Like the Passover seder, this one uses experiential learning, four cups of wine, and special foods. Each cup of wine represents different aspects of the fruit tree and fo ourselves. As the seder progresses, we change the color of the wine in the cups (like the changing of the seasons) - from the whiteness of winter to the fullness of spring. The color gets more and more red and we look forward to the fully red wine of the Passover seder. Of course, there are many interpretations and ways to find meaning in a Tu B'Shevat seder. The cups can represent the tree's growth from seed to sapling, to continued growth, and to bearing fruit. Or they can symbolize the kinds of relationships we can have with Nature and with each other, even with God. There are four directions, the four seasons, and the four elements - all are possible interpretations. The traditional Tu B'Shevat seder also includes a special order for eating different kinds of fruits, each kind representing our own spiritual growth. Before eating each kind of fruit, one thing some people do is to ask themselves or each other a spiritual question related to that kind of fruit. The seder here follows that model. However you celebrate Tu B'Shevat, this holiday is an opportunity to savor and appreciate the bounty of this world, and to give thanks for all the ways that trees provide us with food, shelter, beauty, air and valuable life lessons.
--
Adapted from the following resources:
Trees, Creation, and Creativity: A Hillel Tu BiSh’vat Seder (Publication by the Hillel Foundation); The Trees Are Davening: A Tu BiSh’vat Haggadah Celebrating Our Kinship with the Trees and the Earth - Dr. Barak Gale and Dr. Ami Goodman (Publication by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life); Seder Tu Bishvat: The Festival of Trees – Adam Fisher (Publication by Central Conference of American Rabbis – 1989); Kesher: Berkely’s Reform Chavurah – Tu B’Shevat Seder.
Many thanks to Rabbi David Seidenberg (www.neohasid.org) for his help and input.
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