by Padre Art

Created on: February 07, 2009

According to the Hebrew calendar this is the year 5769 and in the land of Israel the New Year, Tu Bishvat (one of four in the yearly cycle), is celebrated on day 15 of the month of Shvat. This year it works out to be February 9, 2009 and is the time of year when the wild almond trees are in bloom throughout the land. Three different types of ceremonies occur in Israel on this day according to the beliefs of the celebrants.

The Rabbinic Tu B'shvat is used in the calculation of the age of fruit trees to determine the paying of tithes. In the Torah it states that no fruit is to be eaten from the first three harvests while the fourth one is paid in tithes and after that the fruit may be eaten. The age of the tree starts at Tu B'shvat of the year the tree was planted.

A feast of dried fruits, nuts and carob sustain the believers while they plant a tree on this Jewish Arbor Day. Figs, dates, apricots, citrus, almonds and carob are common treats at all times in this region so it is likely even the secular will be sharing this type of meal.

Rabbinical Stewardship or Ecological Tu Bishvat is a natural extension of the religious context behind the holiday. It is relatively recent on the scene, having developed in the early 1970's during discussions of the human to earth interface (adam-adamah). Like other religions since, the Jewish religious leaders were commenting on the questionable policies of stewardship of the land that politics and commerce were forcing on the religious community. The natural affinity between the ecological movement and the Rabbinical Stewardship made an easy transition from the need to reforest the land, the acknowledgement of the importance of forests the world over to all life on this planet and the mystical sacredness of the concept of the Tree of Life.

The imagery of the real tree as a reflection of the Tree of Life is the defining characteristic of Tu Bishvat ceremonies in Israel for the third and most ritualistic of the New Year celebrations. Jewish Kabbalistic customs of Tu Bishvat are detailed and defined by the book, "Peri Eitz Hadar" (The Fruit of the Beautiful Tree). This text was enthusiastically promoted by Ytzahk Luria (1534-1572) and his disciples until it became accepted religious practice. The ceremony, called the Tu Bishvat seder, involves the ritual consumption of dried fruits and wine and the recitation of religious tracts.

There are ten designated fruits, to be eaten in a specific order, and the seder gives instructions regarding the blending of the white and red wine among four cups as well as providing verses to recite during the festival.

Kabbalistic ceremonies of Tu Bishvat focus on the importance of nature, repairing and strengthening the connection between the metaphysical Tree of Life and the material world. Purifying and balancing the energy, while increasing the fertility of the cosmic Tree brings similar benefits to the earthly realm.

Even though different aspects of the population in the land of Israel celebrate Tu B'shvat in various ways, the symbolic imagery of the natural tree is meshed with the contemplation of the divine life force, the essence of fertility, the Tree of Life.

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