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Tu BiShvat: Judaism and the Environment
During Tu BiShvat, we focus our attention towards the environment and environmental issues.
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
Tu BiShvat: History
Although the celebration of Tu BiShvat has a long and varied history, the theme most commonly ascribed to the holiday today is the environment.
Baal t’kiah
Hebrew Spelling
בַּעַל תְּקִיעָה
Literally, “master of t’kiah,” meaning “one who sounds the shofar.”
Cheit
Hebrew Spelling
חֵטְא
A Hebrew term for “sin.” Cheit is a Hebrew archery term meaning “missing the mark.” A section of High Holiday liturgy is the Al Cheit, a confession of ways in which we “missed the mark” during the past year.
L’shanah tovah
Hebrew Spelling
לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה
Literally, “for a good year.” This is a customary greeting for Rosh HaShanah. Also, “shanah tovah.”
T’kiah
Hebrew Spelling
תְּקִיעָה
Literally, “blast” or “blowing of a horn;” it is a note of the shofar call.
T’kiah g’dolah
Hebrew Spelling
תְּקִיעָה גָּדוֹלָה
Literally the “great” t’kiah, this is the longest, deepest call of the shofar heard as the final shofar blast on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.