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With great excitement, tinged with a touch of trepidation, I moved to Israel in the summer of 1996 to begin my first year of rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College.

The actual Rosh Chodesh celebration is hardly mandated, so there's a lot of room for creativity in designing a ritual celebration. Here are a few ideas for starting your own.

Here is the quintessential Jewish question: How do we emulate God?  We are told that we were created by God. We are told that we have a divine spark within us.

"Tu" (the Hebrew abbreviation of 15th) in the month of Shvat was set (Hillel's opinion generally overrules Shammai's) as the beginning of the tithable year for tree fruit: Calculating the tithe on fruit starts again for fruit that sets after that date. 

In a few weeks we will be celebrating Tu BiSh’vat. There are numerous approaches you could take in planning your celebration.

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

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

This blog post originally appeared on the Huffington Post.