Rabbi Rachel's Reflections
Rabbi Rachel's Message
January 2021
January 2021
Dear chevraya,
Winter is finally here! It seems like we had a drawn-out fall. Probably because of COVID, I was struck by those warm-enough-to-comfortably-walk-outside days lasting longer than usual. But now we find ourselves wearing layers, drinking lots of tea, and staring out the window at bare trees. When I first moved to the East Coast many years ago, trees losing their leaves was very strange to me! I was so awestruck by this phenomenon that I gathered some of the brilliantly colored fallen leaves and mailed them to my sister in San Francisco.
Later this month we celebrate Tu biShvat, which literally means the fifteenth day of the month of Sh’vat, but is known as the New Year for the Trees—ראש השנה לאילנות. Originally, Tu biShvat was one of four new years referenced in the Mishnah and the Talmud. It coincided with the sap rising and the trees budding and marked the new year for purposes of calculating agricultural tithes. Over time, Tu biShvat evolved into a celebration of the land of Israel and our connection to it. In the State of Israel, Tu biShvat is observed with tree-planting ceremonies. Those of us outside the land have the opportunity to donate money to the Jewish National Fund so they may plant trees on our behalf. All of this tree planting has resulted in Israel being the only country in the world that has more trees now than it did fifty years ago. That is quite remarkable and worth celebrating in itself!
Thanks to the Kabbalists, Tu biShvat also has great spiritual significance beyond the borders of the land of Israel. They created the tradition of Tu biShvat seders where we drink four glasses of wine (or grape juice) and eat specific fruits and nuts associated with the land of Israel, such as figs, olives, and almonds. According to the Kabbalists, each of the three groupings of fruit are associated with one of the levels of creation. When we eat the fruits and nuts with the proper intention, we engage in tikkun olam, the repairing of the world. I take from this that our people’s existential and spiritual health and our planet’s agricultural well-being are all one. The rituals of Tu biShvat help us maintain an awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things.
Please join me on erev Tu biShvat, January 27, for an evening of looking at Jewish texts on climate change. Meanwhile, sending you all warm and healing wishes as we endure this winter of 2021 that we will surely never forget.
B’vracha,
Rabbi Rachel
Winter is finally here! It seems like we had a drawn-out fall. Probably because of COVID, I was struck by those warm-enough-to-comfortably-walk-outside days lasting longer than usual. But now we find ourselves wearing layers, drinking lots of tea, and staring out the window at bare trees. When I first moved to the East Coast many years ago, trees losing their leaves was very strange to me! I was so awestruck by this phenomenon that I gathered some of the brilliantly colored fallen leaves and mailed them to my sister in San Francisco.
Later this month we celebrate Tu biShvat, which literally means the fifteenth day of the month of Sh’vat, but is known as the New Year for the Trees—ראש השנה לאילנות. Originally, Tu biShvat was one of four new years referenced in the Mishnah and the Talmud. It coincided with the sap rising and the trees budding and marked the new year for purposes of calculating agricultural tithes. Over time, Tu biShvat evolved into a celebration of the land of Israel and our connection to it. In the State of Israel, Tu biShvat is observed with tree-planting ceremonies. Those of us outside the land have the opportunity to donate money to the Jewish National Fund so they may plant trees on our behalf. All of this tree planting has resulted in Israel being the only country in the world that has more trees now than it did fifty years ago. That is quite remarkable and worth celebrating in itself!
Thanks to the Kabbalists, Tu biShvat also has great spiritual significance beyond the borders of the land of Israel. They created the tradition of Tu biShvat seders where we drink four glasses of wine (or grape juice) and eat specific fruits and nuts associated with the land of Israel, such as figs, olives, and almonds. According to the Kabbalists, each of the three groupings of fruit are associated with one of the levels of creation. When we eat the fruits and nuts with the proper intention, we engage in tikkun olam, the repairing of the world. I take from this that our people’s existential and spiritual health and our planet’s agricultural well-being are all one. The rituals of Tu biShvat help us maintain an awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things.
Please join me on erev Tu biShvat, January 27, for an evening of looking at Jewish texts on climate change. Meanwhile, sending you all warm and healing wishes as we endure this winter of 2021 that we will surely never forget.
B’vracha,
Rabbi Rachel