HOW WE CELEBRATE

For centuries after the exile from Israel, Jews used Tu B’Shevat as a day to recall their ties to our homeland by eating its produce. While snow lay on the ground in Europe, Jews knew that the shekediyah, the almond tree, was baring its delicate pink and white blossoms in Israel, and that the rains of winter were nearly over. Raisins, figs, dates, almonds, and especially the hardy bokser (carob) brought to life visions of an Israeli springtime. Sephardic Jews kept this holiday alive, as well, and since the rise of Zionism and the establishment of the State of Israel, tree planting has become the best-known commemoration of the day.

In ancient Israel, a cypress was planted when a girl baby was born, and a cedar was planted for a boy. Later, when the youngsters grew up and married, branches from their trees were used to construct the chuppah (marriage canopy).

During the Tu B’Shevat Seder, we eat a set number of courses of different kinds of fruit. This tradition comes to us from the 16th century mystics of Tzfat in Israel. Each course represented a particular mystical level or aspect of creation. The Seder of the Kabbalists also included drinking four cups of wine, beginning with white wine, then adding drops of red wine, until the final cup of wine was completely red. These cups of wine symbolize the changing seasons, moving from the dormancy of winter to the vibrant life of summer.

Modern Jews have adopted various adaptations of the Tu B’Shevat Seder and use the holiday to learn and practice the value of Bal Tashchit (Do Not Destroy), an ethic of protecting the natural world. On Tu B’Shevat, we use the day to plant trees and otherwise care for our environment.