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Wake-Up Chocolate Fruit Kicks

Recipe by

Deborah R. Prinz

These energizing chocolate chunks have a kick to them!

Dried fruits in the supermarket in Jerusalem

In Jerusalem, Tu BiShvat Offers a Welcome Respite from Winter

Cantor Evan Kent

Coming a month and a half before the spring equinox and two months before Passover, Tu BiShvat provides a glimmer of springtime at a time when winter can often be at its cruelest.

We who have become cynical,
Hard shelled,
Whom life has raised its tough first
Of despair and
Disappointment and heartache
And grief,
We who have learned to protect our souls
And toughen our hearts
To avoid more anguish

Tu BiSh'vat: A Time to Celebrate Environmental Justice

Rachel Landman

There are many reasons to celebrate Tu BiSh’vat this year, as this has been an exciting year for environmental justice.

Nipping it in the Bud

Barbara Lerman-Golomb

This blog post originally appeared on the Huffington Post.

Tu BiShvat: Customs and Rituals

The Jewish mystics of the 17th century, the Kabbalists, created a special ritual—modeled after the Passover seder—to celebrate God's presence in nature. Today in modern Israel, Tu BiShvat has become a national holiday, a tree planting festivaTu BiShvat is not mentioned in the Torah. Scholars believe the holiday was originally an agricultural festival, corresponding to the beginning of spring in Israel. But a critical historical event helped Tu BiShvat evolve from a simple celebration of spring to a commemoration of our connection to the land of Israel. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and the exile that followed, many of the exiled Jews felt a need to bind themselves symbolically to their former homeland. Tu BiShvat served in part to fill that spiritual need. Jews used this time each year to eat a variety of fruits and nuts that could be obtained from Israel. The practice, a sort of physical association with the land, continued for many centuries.l for both Israelis and Jews throughout the world