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Holy Days |
| Holy Days Archives | CELEBRATING TU B'SHVAT 5762 THE NEW YEAR'S DAY OF THE TREES THE MEANING OF TU B'SHVAT The 15th day of the Jewish month of Shvat is the
official "birthday" for trees in Israel. Calculating the years of a tree is necessary for several mitzvot
of the Torah: ma'asorot–tithing [of
each year's fruit]; orlah-forbidden
fruit of tree's first three years; reva'i-[redemption
of] fruit of tree's fourth year; shmittah-the
Sabbatical year. Tu b'Shvat is
considered the beginning of the year for trees because it is the mid-point of
winter: the strength of the cold becomes less, the majority of the year's rains
(in Israel) have fallen, and the sap of the trees starts to rise.
As a result, fruit begins to form.
(Fruit that was already ripe is known to have been nurtured by the
previous year's rain.) THE TU B'SHVAT "SEDER" CELEBRATION The Code of Law states that on Tu b'Shvat fasting and eulogies are forbidden and all pentiential
prayers are omitted. One of the most
important authorities, the Magen Avraham,
adds (131:16): "It is the custom to eat many different kinds of
fruit." The Kabbalistic clebration of Tu b'Shvat that
originated in Tsfat, as recorded in Pri
Etz Hadar, a 50 page pamphlet presenting fruits to eat and passages to read
arranged by anonymous student of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria [1534-1572], the greatest
Kabbalist of Tsfat, takes the form of a "seder," similar to Passover.
Certain fruits are eaten in a particular order, accompanied by specific
readings. Set out below are the first
12 fruits recommended for the Seder, corresponding to the 12 possible
permutations of G-d's four-letter name, along with related verses and themes to
focus on while eating which we have substituted for the lengthy Zohar passages ot the original. Hopefully, you will find this Seder also to
be a liberating, enlightening experience. GUIDELINES FOR THE "SEDER" 1) Gather a bunch of Jews. Each one should help with the preparations, including researching
something to say. 2) Buy as many different fruits as you can (see
"30 Fruits" below). Make an
extra effort to obtain the 12 listed in "The First Twelve"
below. 3) Also buy at least two bottles of sealed kosher
wine: one white, one red (see "Four Cups" below). 4) Bake (or purchase) cake or cookies or anything
tasty that is made primarily from wheat flour.
5) Set the table festively--tablecloth, candles,
flowers, etc. 6) BE SURE each participant knows which blessings to
say before and after which foods. They
are printed in every siddur. The
ceremony is meaninngless without them. (see "Blessings" below). 7) Begin by serving the cake and saying the blessing
for it, Mezonot. 8) On this occasion the blessing over fruit should
certainly be said over one of those for which the land is specially praised
(#2-6 in "The First Twelve"), either the one for which you have a
strong preference or the one nearest the top of the list. 9) The first cup of wine should be poured at the
beginning (see Four Cups). It may be
blessed upon and drunk between the cake and the fruit, or after reaching grapes
(#4 on the list). 10) Have a good time, but don't be too light-headed.
This is a unique opportunity to effect awesome spiritual rectifications (see
"Tikunim" and
"Blessings"). THE FIRST TWELVE FRIUTS OF THE TU B'SHVAT
"SEDER" #1 WHEAT is
the basis for our sustenance (see Psalms 81:17; 104:15; 147:14), but only after
we labor to grow, harvest, and prepare it. [BARLEY, although not included in the seder, is one
of the seven fruits for which Israel is praised. Often used for feeding animals.
Its designation for the Omer
offering inspires our efforts to harness our animalistic tendencies.] #2 OLIVES
yield the best of its oil only when the fruit is crushed. Olive oil floats on top of all liquids. [See
also Jer. 11:16.] #3 DATES are
often a metaphor for the righteous (Ps. 92:13, Song 7:9), as the date tree is
both lofty and fruit-bearing. Further,
as the date tree is impervious to the changing winds, so too are the Jewish
people. #4 GRAPES
can be turned into very different sorts of food (raisins) and drink (wine); so
too, each Jew has the potential to be successful in some aspect of Torah and
mitzvot observance and to be special in his or her own way. [See also Ps. 20:4;
Hos. 9:10.] #5 FIGS must
be picked as soon as they ripen, for they quickly go bad. Simialrly, we must be quick to do mitzvot at
hand before the opportunity "spoils." [See also Songs 2:10..] #6
POMEGRANATES, it is said, have exactly 613 pips, equal to the number of
mitzvot in the Torah. Try
counting! In any case, "Even the
least of Jews are as full of merit as a pomegranate is pips"-see Song 4:4,
6:7. #7 ESROGIM [citrons] are considered to be an extremely beautiful fruit, and are of great importance at Sukkot time (see Lev 23:40 and commentaries). The esrog remains on the tree throughout the entire year, benefitting from all four seasons and unifying them. #8 APPLES
take 50 days to ripen. So too, the Jews
ripened-and still ripen-during the 50 days from Pesach to Shavuot. And just as the apple tree produces fruit
before leaves, so do Jews do mitzvot without pre-requisite of total
understanding-"na'aseh v'nishmah."
[See also Song 2:3] #9 WALNUTS
divide into four sections, corresponding to the four letters of G-d's name and
the four legs of G-d's chariot (see Ex. 1).
As walnuts have two shells which have to be removed, one hard, one soft;
we too have to undergo both physical and spiritual circumcision (see Deut.
30:6). #10 ALMONDS
signify enthusiasm in serving G-d, for the almond tree is always the first to
bloom. This is why Aaron's rod sprouted
specifically almond blossoms (Num. 17:23).
[See also Jer 1:11-12-be sure to catch the "pun" in the
original Hebrew.] #11 CAROBS
take longer to grow than any other fruit (there is a nice story about this in
Taanit 23a). They remind us of the
neceessity to invest many years in Torah-study in order to attain worthwhile
clear understanding. #12 PEARS of
different strains still maintain a close affinity-see Mishna Kilayim 1:4. BLESSINGS Fruits grow because G-d wills so. Not to recognize this by (saying the proper)
blessing is to put the entire Creation in jeopardy. -Pri Etz Hadar- Moreover, the blessings before eating help us to
focus our minds on the vital energy and potential for elevation of the food,
not just its taste. To eat without
pronouncing the appropriate blessing first constitutes theft; not only is it
taking without proper acknowledgement, it is depriving the world of the divine
beneficience that could have been channeled into it by means of the blessing. "SHEHECHIYANU" Eating a fruit for the first time in its season is
considered one of the appropriate occasions for the special blessing of joy, shehechiyanu. Everyone makes an effort to have available a fruit over which to
make this blessing on Tu b'Shvat. By
the way, if both the shehechiyanu and
the blessing for the fruit, ha'etz,
are being made over the same piece of fruit, most authorities state that the shehechiyanu should be said first:
"Blessed are You...who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to
reach this occasion." TIKUNIM (spititual rectifications) The flow of G-d's beneficence is called in Kabbalah
the Tree of Life--the roots, above in G-d,; the fruit, here below. By eating fruit on this day we rectify and
increase this flow. -Pri Etz Hadar- While eating fruit on Tu b'Shvat, reflect on the sin
of Adam and Chava, that they ate forbidden fruit, and intend to rectify it.
-Rabbi Yitzchak Luria- Rabbi Meir says: "The fruit of (the Tree of
Knowledge of Good-and-Evil) was a grape..."; Rabbi Nechemia says: "It
was a fig..."; Rabbi Yehuda says: "It was wheat..."
-Talmud, Brachot 40a- (see there for reasons--notice that no one
says APPLE!) 30 FRUITS Rabbi Chaim Vital (main disciple of Rabbi Yitzchak
Luria) explained that there are 30 fruits which parallel the Ten Sephirot ("Divine Attributes")
as they are manifested in each of the three lower of the four spiritual
worlds. Atzilut-the World of Emanation-is too purely divine to have
physical representation. Briah-the World of Creation-far removed
from the realm of impurity, is represented by those fruits which are wholly
edible.* Yetzirah-The World of Formation-a lesser level of purity, is
represented by those fruits which all is eaten except for a pit on the inside, Asiyah-the World of Action-our realm
where evil exerts a powerful attraction, is represented by those fruits which
are enclosed in a totally inedible, proctective shell. *Fruits with soft cores (apples,
pears) and with cookable skins (lemons, oranges) are considered totally edible,
even if those parts are undesirable. FOUR CUPS OF WINE (or at least a few sips) The spirit of the occasion requires drinking white
wine at the beginning of the seder and red wine at the end. Some are accustomed to drink four cups,
parallel to Passover night. The first
is all white, the second mostly white, the third half-and-half, and the fourth
mostly red. Why? - see the discussion
of the Four Worlds in "30 Fruits" above. CLASSIC THOUGHTS "a land of wheat and barley,
and (grape)vines, and figs, and pomegranates: a land of oil-olives and (date-)
honey" [Deut. 8:8] Charoset (for the Passover Seder) should be
made from those fruits to which Israel is compared in Song of Songs...
--Tosefot, Pesachim 116a Rabbi Elazar would eat less and save money in order
to be able to eat all the new fruits on Tu b'Shvat. We have a tradition from our fathers to pray on Tu
b'Shvat that G-d should make available for us a kosher and especially beautiful
esrog in time for Sukkot. -Benei Yisasschar- After Sukkot we fry the esrog that we used for the
Four Species, and on Tu b'Shvat we eat it. --Likutei Maharich To eat many different fruits on this day and to
recite various passages and praises while doing so...is a wonderful spiritual
anchoring. -Pri Etz Hadar-
COME
TO SAFED FOR
ASCENT'S FIFTEENTH ANNUAL "KABBALISTIC TU B'SHVAT
SEDER" – THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL STARTED! – Tuesday, Feb. 10, 8:30 PM |
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