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Planting Justice 2014

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Planting Justice 2014 Written by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Joshua Bloom, and Rabbi Lev Meirowitz Nelson REVISED DECEMBER 2013 DESIGN BY SHIRARI INDUSTRIES Table of Contents Introduction 4 The Seder Part I: The world of Assiyah (action) 6 Part II: The world of Yetzirah (formation) 11 Part III: The world of B’riyah (creation) 17 Part IV: The world of Atzilut (emanation) 21 Part V: Planting for the future 23 T’RUAH: THE RABBINIC CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS www.truah.org Table of Contents 3 Introduction Why plant justice? Can the world be repaired in a single day? For the sixteenth century kabbalists (mystics), Tu BiShvat was the day that held the potential for world transformation. To understand what this means, we need first to understand a bit about the kabbalists and a bit about Tu BiShvat. Lurianic Kabbalah (the theories associated with Isaac Luria, the leader of a mystical circle in sixteenth century Tsfat) posits that the world as we know it originated through a process of shattering the original divine perfection. According to this theory, God created the world by emanating aspects of the divine being through vessels designed for this purpose. When these vessels shattered, evil entered the world along with the divine sparks. The first human beings had the opportunity to repair the world, but instead sinned. This original sin led to an even more profound disruption both in the universe and in the human soul. According to these mystics, each generation of humanity inherits the responsibility of tikkun (fixing)—that is, returning the sparks to their origin by way of mitzvot, prayers, and other spiritual practices. What does that have to do with Tu BiShvat? In ancient times, Tu BiShvat—the fifteenth of the month of Sh’vat—simply served a legal purpose. Jewish law forbids eating the fruit of a tree that is younger than three years old. And certain tithes are calculated based on when the tree gives its fruit. Since it would be a burden to keep track of the birthdates of every tree, the rabbis instituted the fifteenth of Sh’vat as the day when all of the trees aged a year. Trees play an important symbolic role in Kabbalah. The sin in the Garden of Eden, which has a central part in kabbalistic thinking, revolves around two seemingly magical trees—the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The mystical system of sefirot (aspects of God) is generally depicted as a tree. And the biblical comparison of a human being to “a tree of the field” leads to a broader imagining of the tree as a symbol of the human being. In fact, when not depicted as a tree, the sefirot are most often presented in the shape of a human being. The kabbalists built on this imagery to re-imagine the legalistic birthday of the trees as an opportunity for tikkun. The first published Tu BiShvat Seder, P’ri Etz Hadar1, revolves around eating ten symbolic fruits. The author understood the eating of these fruits to be a means of doing tikkun: “Through the special power of this tikkun, performed on this very day, through the power of the blessings and contemplation of the mystery of the fruit’s divine roots, an effect will be produced in their structure and character above.”2 In modern times, Tu BiShvat has taken on new meanings. The early Zionists reclaimed Tu BiShvat as a celebration of the land of Israel and its agricultural bounty. The environmental movement has adopted Tu BiShvat as the holiday of nature. And today, we dedicate our Tu BiShvat seder to recommitting ourselves to the protection of human rights. 1 P’ri Etz Hadar was first published in 1728, but seems to date from at least a century before. 2 Trans. Miles Krassen in Trees, Earth And Torah: A Tu B’shvat Anthology. Ed., Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman, and Arthur Waskow. 148 T’RUAH: THE RABBINIC CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS www.truah.org Introduction 4 What’s in this seder? The T’ruah Tu BiShvat Seder begins with the mystical notion of Tu BiShvat as an opportunity for tikkun. Like the kabbalists, we believe that the world is fundamentally broken. For us, this brokenness manifests itself in the mistreatment of human beings. The very first chapter of the Torah describes human beings as creations in the divine image. As such, human beings have the basic right to a safe, secure, and dignified life. Because of our capacity to imitate God, we also inherit the obligation to ensure that every other person has access to these basic rights. In our broken world, human beings are tortured and enslaved. Billions lack economic security, access to decent health care, and protection from war and violence. Women, GLBT people, and members of religious and ethnic minorities can face discrimination, violence, or even murder. Holding a Tu BiShvat seder will not alone change any of these realities. We hope, though, that this human rights seder will inspire all of us to devote ourselves to tikkun in the next year. What you will need for this seder ; White wine or grape juice ; Red wine or grape juice ; Walnuts, pistachios, peanuts, roasted chestnuts, or other nuts in their shells. (If nut allergies are an issue in your community, you can substitute coconut, pineapple, or other fruits with hard shells and edible insides) ; Olives (not pitted) and other fruits with soft exteriors and pits inside. Examples include peaches, plums, mangos, cherries. ; Grape/cherry tomatoes and other fruits that are entirely edible. Examples include figs, seedless grapes, berries. Where possible, purchase tomatoes at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or another supermarket that has joined the Fair Food Program. See page 18 for more information. ; Fresh herbs and spices ; Copies of the text for each participant. ; Parsley seeds, cups, and soil. ; Cups, plates, napkins. ; Slips of paper and pens Setting the table ; Set out a plate and cup for each person. You will not need utensils. ; Place each type of fruit on its own platter and put these on the table. ; Open the wine and/or grape juice and set the bottles on the table. T’RUAH: THE RABBINIC CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS www.truah.org Introduction 5 The Seder The Tu BiShvat Seder moves us through the four worlds of Lurianic Kabbalah: Assiyah (action), Yetzirah (formation), B’riyah (Creation), and Atzilut (Emanation). As we move through these worlds, we move into higher and higher spiritual planes. Each world is represented by a cup of wine or grape juice (white, red, or a mixture of the two). The first three worlds are also represented by a fruit. Part I: The world of Assiyah (action) Wine/juice: Entirely white Fruit: Walnuts, roasted chestnuts, peanuts, pistachios or other nuts in their shells. If nut allergies are an issue in your community, substitute coconuts, pineapples, bananas, or other fruits with hard exteriors and edible interiors. The world of assiyah is the lowest of the spiritual worlds of kabbalah. It is the world of action and material existence. This is the world with which we are most familiar. In the course of this seder, we will be challenged to break out of this world, and to imagine the world we wish to create. The First Cup of Wine Pour a glass of white wine or grape juice. This whiteness of this wine (juice) represents winter. Deep in the throes of this bleak season, we cannot yet see the potential of spring. Similarly, when we are surrounded by pain and suffering, we have difficulty envisioning how we can fix a world that seems irreparably broken. Barukh atah Adonai, eloheinu Melekh ha-olam boreh p’ri ha-gafen. Blessed are you, Adonai our God, sovereign of the universe who brings forth the fruit of the vine. Alternative version: N’varekh et ein hachayim matzmichat p’ri hagafen3 Let us bless the Source of Life that ripens fruit on the vines. 3 Alternative version taken from Marcia Falk, The Book of Blessing HarperSanFrancisco 1996 T’RUAH: THE RABBINIC CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS www.truah.org The Seder: Part I 6 The First Fruit The world of assiyah is represented by a fruit with a hard outside shell, but a soft and edible inside. P’ri Etz Hadar, the kabbalistic seder, singles out several nuts, including chestnuts, pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnuts as examples of this type of fruit. Before eating this fruit, the kabbalistic seder instructs us to meditate on the following text: They brought him a savory food to start, and bread with it. He blesses the savory food and exempts the bread [from needing a separate blessing]. This is the rule: when one food is the ikar (the primary thing), and there is less important food with it, one makes a blessing on the primary food and thereby exempts the less important food. Mishnah Brakhot 6:7 At first glance, this text appears to be a legalistic discussion of which blessing to say on one’s appetizers. Because bread is generally considered to be the essence of a meal, a person who eats bread with his or her meal ordinarily recites hamotzi over the bread, and then does not recite additional blessings over the other food eaten as part of the meal. In this case, though, the savory appetizer—perhaps a dip or some olives—is considered to be primary, and so the blessing is recited over this food and not over the bread. Why would the kabbalists prescribe meditating on this legal discussion before eating nuts? Often, we get so caught up in unimportant but seemingly urgent pursuits that we lose sight of the ikar—what is most important.
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