Today (and by today I mean the Jewish day starting tonight and going into tomorrow day) is Tu B’shevat, the 15th day of Shevat, which, according to the Mishnah, is the New Year for the Trees. It’s kind of a bullshit holiday, actually, that existed in the Mishnah in the time when the late winter planting started, the first blooming (almond trees) happened, and tree tax was taken. But then the Kabbalists in the 16th century turned it onto a mystical holiday celebrating our natural essence and the effervescent relationship humans have to the natural and supernatural world.
In the Zionist age, the labor movement turned the holiday into a moment to reinforce the connection to the land. Modern, liberal Judaism has turned the holiday into a holiday of environmental awareness and so forth. There are a lot of tree-related songs written by Israeli and Jewish-American folk singers, and most congregations and communities have Tu B’shevat seders, which is like a Passover seder, but based on different types of frut and the seven speicies of the land of Israel and so forth and so forth.
Tonight, at school, we have a Tu B’shevat seder. It was fine. Again, it’s kind of a bullshit holiday and tonight felt like an excuse to get together, sing some songs, and eat a bunch of dried fruits and nuts.
But my ultimate point is we’re experiencing spring in Israel right now. It’s almost glorious (if part of me wasn’t so disappointed winter was over and done with so fast; Israel really is California) The whole country, in this first week of February, is entering the beginnings of springtime. The sun is out, the days reach 65 degrees, there’s a nice breeze, and the almond trees are blooming. Tu B’shevat is here: the birthday of the trees.
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