Tu B’Shevat

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Tu B’Shevat is the Jewish “New Year of the Trees.” We celebrate by rejoicing in the fruit of the tree and the fruit of the vine, celebrating the splendid, abundant gifts of the natural world which give our senses delight and our bodies’ life.

One of our traditions for Tu B’Shevat is a seder which highlights the many gifts we receive from the various trees developed originally in the 17th century by the Kabbalists, the Jewish mystics of Tzfat. Modeled on the Passover Seder, the Tu B’Shevat Seder includes drinking four cups of wine with varying percentages of red and white wine, representing the shifting of yearly seasons. The Seder also included readings on trees and fruit from a range of Jewish literature.