TU B’SHVAT

TU B’SHVAT SEDER: BRIDGING HEAVEN AND EARTH
w/ Rabbi Michael Cohen of the Aravah Institute
Tuesday, January 26th @7pm-8:30pm
ZOOM Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6557526954
The Arava Institute is an environmental and academic institution in the Middle East, dedicated to preparing future leaders from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and around the world to cooperatively solve the regional and global challenges of our time. The Institute advances cross-border environmental cooperation and cross-border environmental discourse, regardless of political conflict, in the Middle East.

Shalom chevre (friends!)

Tuesday January 26th, is the holiday Tu B’Shvat
, which stands for the 15th of the Hebrew month Shvat. In our tradition Tu B’Shvat, on the full moon, marked the New Year for Trees. The holiday has been passed down to us over the millenia with a practical import and a mystical one: on the practical end, Torah law states that one cannot eat of the fruit of a tree before it is 3 years old. Talmudic commentary provides the context that the fruit of trees that are under-developed is neither beautiful (meaning tasty) nor nutritious, and that pruning a tree when it is immature can be permanently damaging to the individual tree and the surrounding ecosystem. Thus it was important to know how to count the “years” of a tree, so as to not eat of them too early. On the mystical end, the Kabbalists tought that trees were the symbolic bridge between the Divine Realm and the human realm, and that both human beings and The Source of Being have a cosmic model like that of a tree, with roots and branches extending in unique and careful harmony with all the elements and energies of existence.  

So join us tomorrow night as we bridge heaven and earth with guest speaker Rabbi Michael Cohen from the Aravah Institute who will be spekaing to how caring for the trees and the environment bridges divides and creates meaningful cooperation and friendship between Israeli, Arab, and Palestinian communities. Followed by a traiditional, Kabbalistic Tu B’Shvat seder.

What you will need (and don’t worry- if you don’t have we will make a complete seder together with all of us together): 

1 bottle of red wine/red juice
1 bottle of white wine/white or light-colored juice
4 kinds of fruits: 1 kind that is hard on the outside but soft on the inside (like almonds, walnuts, coconuts, etc.); 1 kind that is soft on the outside but with a pit in the center (like olives, apricots, peaches, dates, etc.); 1 kind that is soft all the way through (like figs, grapes, raspberries or any kind of berry, etc.); and 1 kind that has a tough skin but soft on the inside (like mango, avocado, or banana) 

Looking forward to being with you tomorrow night, Tuesday January 26th @7pm!
ZOOM Link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6557526954

Blessings 🙂 R’B