Four Questions for the Tu B'Shvat Seder
By Ellen Bernstein
Why do we celebrate the trees' new year in mid-winter?
Throughout winter, the trees are dormant; the land is cold and the trees can't absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil. By Tu B'Shvat [in the Land of Israel], the earth begins to warm, the trees draw water and nutrients up through their roots, and the first buds appear. Tu B'Shvat is a celebration of the trees and the waters they depend upon.
Why do we celebrate Tu B'Shvat with a seder?
The Kabbalists were Jewish mystics who lived in Safed, a small community in northern Israel, several hundred years ago. They developed the first seder for Tu B'Shvat. Seder means "order," and the Kabbalists developed a mysterious order for their seder. Today, a seder provides a wonderful opportunity to come together with family and friends to learn and celebrate together.
How is this seder different from the Passover seder?
At the Passover seder we tell the story of our history and we eat foods--matzah, marror and herbs--that symbolize that story. The order of the Passover seder helps us to experience the journey from slavery to freedom, and from Egypt to Israel. At the Tu B'Shvat seder we tell the stories of our relationship with Creation, and we eat all kinds of fruits to remind ourselves of the miracles of nature. The order of the Tu B'Shvat seder helps us experience the journey from the outer world of matter to the inner world of spirit.
What is the order of the Tu B'Shvat seder?
[The Kabbalists taught that] we live in four dimensions or four worlds at the same time: the physical world, the emotional world, the intellectual world and the spiritual world. The four worlds provide a natural order for the Tu B'Shvat seder: Earth for physical, water for emotional, air for intellectual, and fire for spiritual. The elements are integral parts of many Jewish rituals. We acknowledge fire, water and earth every Shabbat, when we light candles, wash hands, and break bread.
Ellen Bernstein is the founder of Shomrei Adamah, the first national Jewish environmental organization. "Four Questions" excerpted from Ecology and the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature and the Sacred Meet.
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