Tu b’Shevat - 15 Shevat

Tu B’Shevat and Tikkun, a Tu B’Shevat Seder

In the 16th century, mystical kabbalists developed Tu B’Shevat into a holiday based on the concept of tikkun olam—repairing the world through action. The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA), which combats poverty, racism, and anti-Semitism within Chicago’s diverse communities, has put together a brief but compelling Tu B’Shevat Seder focused on contemporary justice issues.

A Green Menorah Seder

“A person is like the tree of the field” (Deut. 20:19). Celebrate the midwinter rebirth of trees—one of our planet’s major ways of reducing the CO₂ that causes global warming. The Shalom Center’s Tu B’Shevat Seder supplement and discussion guide revolves around the catastrophic global climate crisis and ways to prevent further damage through thought and action.

Appreciation for Nature’s Blessings on Tu B’Shevat

Confei Nesharim’s “Tu B’Shevat Learning Campaign” offers community resources, including sample Seders, such as Appreciation for Nature’s Blessings: Exploring the Gifts of the Earth, e-cards, and articles about the connections between the holiday and the environment. You can also plant a tree in Canfei Nesharim’s “virtual forest” to support their programs. Even better, plant a live tree in Israel in someone’s honor or memory by visiting the Jewish National Fund Tree Planting Center website.

Tu B’Shevat Seders—Popular, Ecological, and Spiritual

Increasingly Jewish young adults are participating in Tu B’Shevat Seders, a relatively new tradition, where the emphasis is often on the connection between environmental activism and Jewish teachings. Find out more about these holiday Seders, why they are resonating with Jewish youth, and where and how to celebrate the “New Year of the Trees.”

Book Review: Trees, Earth and Torah: A Tu B’Shvat Anthology

Reviewed by RABBI FRED SCHERLINDER DOBB

This book is a great reference for Jewish environmental teachings and what has been called the “Jewish Earth Day.”

Book Review: Torah of the Earth

Reviewed by JONATHAN GRONER

If environmentalism glorifies nature, does the movement constitute modern paganism, foreign to the essence of Judaism? This question and others appears in a two-volume anthology that is at times incisive and repetitive.