Tu B’Shvat / Tu B’Shevat / New Year for Trees Subscribe
A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology which focus on Tu b’Shevat.
From the Blogs
Keeping It All In Perspective
- January 23, 2011
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About two years ago while working at the non-profit organization I helped form, Faiths United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE), I made the decision to go to law school in order to pursue a career in environmental law. I just started my second semester of classes two weeks ago. The interesting thing about law school is that grades are not released until five to six weeks after final exams are finished. Therefore, despite already being back into the daily ground of second semester classes, I am still waiting for several of my grades from last semester (in law school 100% ...
Tu B’Shvat: An Ancient Jewish Holy Day for Modern Environmentalists
- January 20, 2011
Check out the lead article in today's Huffington Post Religion section: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gabe-crane/tu-bshvat-an-ancient-holi_b_810325.html "What was once an accounting of tree inventory in ancient Israel may be emerging as the accounting of a movement." By Gabe Crane, Adamah Fall 2010 Tu B'Shvat, long ago the annual date set aside in ancient Israel for determining the age of trees, essentially as a tax matter, today marks what has come to be known as the "Jewish New Year for Trees." In that fact, it is not ...
“An almond, the moon, and a cup cake tree”
- January 17, 2011
The almond, the moon, and the cupcake tree. An almond, a moon, and a cupcake tree. Almonds, the moon, my cupcake tree, and yours. It was the afternoon of the evening of January 12th, 2011, also known as Erev Rosh Chodesh Shevat and I went to visit my grandchildren. I have always loved the holiday of Tu B'Shevat- simply named, the 15th of the (Hebrew) month of Shevat. When I was a child I loved the 'treats' we were given in Hebrew School- especially the bokser that I couldn't even bite. I did love trying to make music with it. I was very skeptical ...
Israeli, New Jersey teens team up in Eco Connection
- January 17, 2011
Sviva Israel's Eco Connection has been featured in The Jewish Week. Here is the article: A Green Exchange Israeli, New Jersey teens team up in program to raise environmental awareness and make an Eco Connection. Michele Chabin Israel Correspondent Tuesday, January 11, 2011 Seeds of a partnership: New Jerseyites look at soil samples with Israeli sixth graders at the Chalmish School in Arad. Arad, Israel — Tu b’Shvat, the tree-p...
Organizing a Taste of Tu b’Shevat
- January 15, 2011
This past Monday, I organized a “Taste of Tu b’Shevat” event in my local community in Silver Spring, MD. We’ve organized Tu b’Shevat seders for the last five years, but we decided to do things a little differently this year because a) we had some committee exhaustion and b) we sensed that the old model was getting a little stale. However, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to do something! So, we organized a “Taste of Tu b’Shevat” event. The program took place on January 10 – more than a week ...
A Special Tu B’Shvat Tour of Eden Village Camp’s Permaculture Orchard
- January 13, 2011
- 1 comment
One of our favorite Talmudic tales at Eden Village Camp: One afternoon Choni HaMe’agel was walking beside a road. He saw an old man planting a Carob tree, and asked him: “In how many years will this tree bear fruit?” The old man replied: “70 years!”. “70 years!”, Choni exclaimed, “Do you think you will be alive then?” The old man replied: “I found this world with Carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I am planting for my children.” Tu B’Shvat, the Rosh Hashanah for The Trees is ...
Moving the Jewish Community Beyond Tu B’Shvat on Environmental Issues
- January 12, 2011
As a freelance Jewish environmental educator, the 2 weeks surrounding Tu B’shvat might be considered my high holidays. This year I will be teaching in 4 cities, 3 synagogues, and 11 supplemental and day schools in just that window. Yet in the two months following I only have a few random teaching engagements. While those of us in the Jewish environmental field have moved beyond just Tu B’shvat as the core of our work, the remainder of the Jewish world continues to see this one day as their only opportunity to teach Jewish environmental values. So here ...
Ideas for creating an informative & transformative Tu B’Shvat Seder.
- January 12, 2011
As the Tu B’Shvat holiday quickly approaches, I am scrambling to prepare my 6th grade class to lead the annual Tu B’Shvat Seder. This involves a combination of general study on Jewish attitudes towards trees, as well as teaching many specifics such as what blessings to say on each fruit and how to group fruits according to their ‘type.’ As this will be my sixth year leading this seder, I have developed a seder structure that works well for our particular situation. Rather than having a ‘sit-down’ seder (similar to a ...
How to Organize a Successful Tu b’Shevat Seder
- January 2, 2011
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Tu b'Shevat is coming! This year it falls on January 19-20. In my role as executive director of Canfei Nesharim: Sustainable Living Inspired by Torah, I've been organizing and hosting Tu b'Shevat seders all around the world over the last ten years, including interesting model seders at different times and places: in August in Vermont (CAJE), for example, and in December in California (Hazon Food Conference). The Tu b'Shevat Seder is a fun experience for children and adults, and can be adapted to different timeframes and levels of Jewish/environ...
Planning for Tu B’Shvat & reflections on a few Jewish plants
- December 29, 2010
- 1 comment
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You might not expect it, but winter is a busy time for Jewish environmental educators like myself. While the garden rests frozen under a blanket of fresh Chicago snow, Tu B'Shvat is right around the corner. This holiday, which celebrates the New Year of the trees, is perhaps the most natural holiday to think about Jewish values of environmental preservation and appreciation. As in years past, my 6th grade students will be leading the rest of the religious school in the Tu B'Shvat seder. There's a lot they will need to learn to get ready, I'm hope ...
