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Feb. 10, 2006
The Tu B'Shevat seder explained
Why do we drink four cups of wine, eat certain fruits and ask
questions about the world?
SHARON KANON ISRAEL PRESS SERVICE
Almond blossoms are part of nature's wondrous language, telling
us that the gloomy short days of winter are coming to an end and
that most of Israel's winter rains have fallen. The blossoms, like
a wake-up call, signal the start of a new planting season.
Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, is the
official day for celebrating the New Year of the Trees. As a holiday,
first mentioned in the Mishnah, it is a late bloomer, only coming
into full flower with the Zionist return to Israel. With a focus
on the land and its fruits, return to roots and Eretz Yisrael, it
is customary on Tu B'Shevat to eat a variety of fresh and dried
fruits and nuts. Only in recent years, however, has the Tu B'Shevat
seder grown in popularity, both in Israel and the Diaspora.
In the 16th century, kabbalists in Safed invigorated the holiday
by composing a Tu B'Shevat seder, based on the Pesach seder, which
included four cups of wine, four questions, specific foods and story-telling.
They believed that eating the fruit, preceded by blessings, was
a tikkun, or correction, in kabbalah, that could have a positive
influence on the year's produce. Over time, different communities
have added their own customs and the Tu B'Shevat seder – which
now also has its own haggadah and often includes contemporary Hebrew
poetry and song – has developed into a unique expression of
appreciation for the land.
Although there are different versions of the Tu B'Shevat seder,
most follow the same pattern. Like the Passover seder, the Tu B'Shevat
seder calls for four glasses of wine, the drinking of which is preceded
by the blessing for wine: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King
of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine."
The first cup of wine is white, symbolizing the barrenness of the
winter; the second is mostly white mixed with some red, symbolizing
the approach of spring; the third is mostly red mixed with some
white, symbolizing the progression of spring, and the fourth is
all red, symbolizing the arrival of summer.
Fruit is eaten during the seder and includes four categories: fruit
with a hard outer shell (almonds, pecans, walnuts), fruit with an
inner pit (dates, olives, plums, cherries), fruit with an outer
shell and inner pit (carob, avocado, pomegranate, orange) and fruit
that is entirely edible (figs, grapes, raisins, strawberries). A
large centre plate is usually used to hold the 15 different kinds
of fruits; sometimes individual plates are prepared for each person.
A friend of mine has always associated buksa, the fruit of the carob
tree, with Tu B'Shevat, as he recalls his father bringing it home
at holiday time. This tradition can be traced back to Rabbi Shimon
bar Yohai, who took refuge in a cave with his son when hiding from
the Romans and lived on well water and the fruit of the carob tree
for 13 years. The late Lubavitcher Rebbe instructed his followers
to eat carobs on Tu B'Shevat during the Gulf War in 1991, because
Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who was schooled in miracles, was known
to eat carobs. Although no miracles occurred, the war did take a
turn for the better after the holiday.
One person usually leads the Tu B'Shevat seder – providing
direction concerning which fruit to eat or glass of wine to drink
– and makes the appropriate blessing while holding in his hand
the object being blessed. As with the Pesach seder, however, it
is also quite acceptable for everyone to have a turn reading the
haggadah.
Noga Hareuven of Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve in
Israel, composed the following version of the Passover questions
as part of their Tu B'Shevat Seder program:
• Why is the seder of the night of Tu B'Shevat different from
the seder of the night of Passover?
Because at the Passover seder, we eat matzah and on this night,
only fruit.
• At the Passover seder, we drink wine of any color; on this
night we drink white and red wine.
At the Passover seder, we tell of the Exodus from Egypt; on this
night we speak of the fruits of the field.
Another seder begins by asking four ecologically relevant questions
designed to help us understand the significance of this day:
• Why does this holiday honor trees?
• Why, today, do we eat fruit that is grown in Israel?
• Why, today, do we focus on conservation?
• Why do we think about planting even though spring is still
some way off?
In fact, environmentally conscious educators have suggested that
the seder include reciting a list of makot (plagues) in the
modern world, such as air pollution, water contamination, noise
abuse, wanton destruction, the extinction of species, disregard
for the environment (littering, using toxic materials, etc.) and
not thinking of the future.
Tu B'Shevat haggadot typically, however, reaffirm our bond with
the land of Israel, rejoice in its rebirth and pledge to share in
its rebuilding. One Tu B'Shevat hag- gadah includes part of President
Chaim Weizmann's emotion-packed speech when he opened the first
Knesset of the state of Israel on Tu B'Shevat, 1949: "Every
Jew has a connection to Eretz Yisrael. We pray that the incoming
of the exiles will bring in more and more people who will strike
roots and work together with all of us to build the state of Israel
and make the desolated land flower."
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