Seder Tu B’Shvat ‘Hagadah’ compiled by Elli Fischer

Instructions: The idea of this ‘hagadah’ is to facilitate a hands-on learning ​ experience, in which themes of Tu B’Shvat are explored with our minds and our taste-buds. Each section of the hagadah corresponds to particular foods and particular learning material. Each section should be read aloud by alternating narrators. Instructions will appear throughout in italics, and need not be read aloud. ​ ​

Part I: On Tu B’Shvat we celebrate the ‘new year for trees’. This designation has ​ ​ ​ meant different things during different eras of Jewish history. At this ‘seder’ we will look at the different ways that Jews have thought about, learned about, and tasted the fruit of Eretz Yisrael through time. In fact, the story begins even further back, on the very first day of creation, when the very first human being tasted a forbidden fruit. Rabbi Chaim Vital says in the name of the Arizal that one must intend while eating the fruits to repair the sin of Adam who erred by eating fruit from the tree:

Take a wheat-based product, a glass of wine/grape juice, and a fig. Make a ​ ​ ‘Ha-motzi’/’mezonot’ on the wheat product, a ‘ha-gafen’ on the wine, and ‘ha-etz’ on the fig. ​

תלמוד בבלי מסכת ברכות דף מ עמוד א אילן שאכל ממנו אדם הראשון, רבי מאיר אומר: גפן היה, שאין לך דבר שמביא יללה על האדם אלא ​ ​ ​ ​ יין, שנאמר: +בראשית ט'+ וישת מן היין וישכר; רבי נחמיה אומר: תאנה היתה, שבדבר שנתקלקלו בו נתקנו, שנאמר +בראשית ג'+ ויתפרו עלה תאנה; רבי יהודה אומר: חטה היתה, שאין התינוק יודע .לקרות אבא ואמא עד שיטעום טעם דגן ​ ​

Babylonian Talmud, Brachot 40a What was the tree from which Adam ate? Rabbi Meir says: It was a grapevine, because nothing brings woe onto man like ​ wine, as it says [about Noah in Bereishit 9], “And he drank of the wine and became ​ ​ drunk” Rabbi Nehemia says: It was a fig, so that their object of ruin was also their ​ object of repair, as it says (Bereishit 3) “And they sewed together fig leaves”. ​ ​ Rabbi Yehuda says: It was wheat, because a baby doesn’t k now how to call ​ ‘Abba’ or ‘Eema’ until he tastes the taste of grain. ​ ​ ​ ​

Discussion Points: What are these three Sages really arguing about? Think about ​ how each Sage uses a different fruit to symbolize the nature of Adam’s sin.

Part II: The Torah does not mention Tu B’Shvat, but it is full of references to the ​ ​ unique fruits of the Land of Israel. We first hear of it as Yaakov’s sons prepare to return to Egypt: בראשית מג:יא ויֹּאמר אֵלהם יִשָׂרֵאל אִביהם, ִאם ֵ-כּן ֵאפוֹא זֹאת עשׂוּ--קחוּ ִמזִּמַרת האָרץ ִבּכֵליכם, ו ִהוֹרידוּ ָלִאישׁ ִמנָחה: ַ ֶ ֲ ֶ ְ ֲ ֶ ֲ ְ ְ ָ ֶ ְ ֶ ְ ְ .מַעט צִרי, וּמַעט דַּבשׁ, נכֹאת ולֹט, ָבּטנִים וּשׁקִדים ְ ֳ ְ ְ ְ ָ ְ ְ ֵ

Bereishit 43:11 And their father Israel said to them: 'If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your baggage, and carry them down as a gift for the man: some balm and some honey, gum, ladanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds’

Eat some pistachio nuts, date honey, or almonds. ​

Later, when the nation of Israel entered the land it had become known for ​ seven special fruits: דברים פרק ח כי ידוד אלהיך מביאך אל ארץ טובה ארץ נחלי מים עינת ותהמת יצאים בבקעה ובהר: ארץ חטה :ושערה וגפן ותאנה ורמון ארץ זית שמן ודבש

Devarim 8:7-8 For Hashem your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey.

These fruits became the object of many mitzvot, such as trumah, maser, bikkurim, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ orlah, and more! ​

Eat dates, olives, or grapes.

The Mishna does mention Tu B’Shvat, listing it as the ‘Rosh Hashana’ for fruit ​ trees:

תלמוד בבלי מסכת ראש השנה דף ב עמוד א ארבעה - ראשי שנים הם… באחד בשבט - ראש השנה לאילן, כדברי בית שמאי, בית הלל אומרים: .בחמשה עשר בו

Rosh Hashana 2a (Mishna 1:1) There are four ‘Rosh Hashana’s…the first of Shvat is the ‘Rosh Hashana’ for fruit th trees. These are the words of Beit Shammai. Beit Hillel says: on the 15 .​ ​

The Gemara explains what this means: ​

תלמוד בבלי מסכת ראש השנה דף טו עמוד ב תנו רבנן: אילן שחנטו פירותיו קודם חמשה עשר בשבט - מתעשר לשנה שעברה, אחר חמשה עשר .בשבט - מתעשר לשנה הבאה

Rosh Hashana 15b th Our Rabbis Taught: A tree whose fruits blossomed before the 15 ​ of Shevat is th ​ tithed with the outgoing year’s produce; after the 15 ​ of Shevat it is tithed with the ​ incoming year’s produce.

ירושלמי ראש השנה 1:2 ר' זעירה רבי אילא רבי לעזר בשם רבי הושעיה חד אמר כבר יצאו רוב גשמי שנה כולה וכבר רובה ​ ​ של תקופה מבחוץ וחרונה אמר עד כאן הן חיין ממי השנה שעברה מיכן והילך הן חיין ממי השנה ​ ​ הבאה

Yerushalmi Rosh Hashana 1:2 R. Zeira in the name of R. Ila and R. Eliezer in the name of R. Hoshaya: One says – most of the year’s rain has fallen and most of the season is gone; the other says: until now they have lived off of the outgoing year’s water. From now on, they are nourished from the incoming year’s water.

Discussion: In the times of the Mishna, was Tu B’Shvat a holiday? ​ Why would it make sense to put the ‘Rosh Hashana’ for trees right in the middle of the winter?

Eat carob, a fruit which is frequently mentioned in the Mishna and Gemara. ​

Part III: During the long exile, when few Jews were able to live in Israel, and the ​ ​ ​ initial meaning of Tu B’Shvat became impracticable, many Jewish communities began eating fruits symbolically on Tu B’Shvat, imbuing it with certain sense of celebration. Tachanun was skipped and special poems were recited. The following poem was not amongst them: ​ ​

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. -- Joyce Kilmer, "Trees"

In the 1500s, the mystical community of Tzfat, having witnessed a major ​ ​ renaissance of Jewish life in the land of Israel, began celebrating Tu B’Shvat by eating from the fruits of the land of Israel. In addition to the Ariza”l’s idea, which we addressed earlier, the following idea is expressed by the Shem mi-Shmuel, a 19th ​ ​ ​ Century Chasidic Rebbe, on the spiritual significance of Tu B’Shvat: We have seen in the Mishna regarding the New Year for the trees, Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagree as to the date. Beit Shammai says it is the first of Shvat and Beit Hillel the fifteenth of Shvat. The Shem miShmuel understands that their argument is also on a deeper level than simply when the majority of rain for the year has fallen. The Talmud (Sanedrin 97a) teaches that the 6,000 years of human history can be divided into three 2,000 year sections. The first 2,000 years are described as a time of chaos, the second 2,000 years are described as a time of Torah. This time period begins with Abraham and Sarah. The last 2,000 years are described as a time of potential messianic redemption. According to the Shem miShmuel, we see that the timeline of history does not become fruitful until it reaches its one third point. King David in Psalms (90:10) tells us a normal lifespan of a person is 70 years. The Shem miShmuel explains that just as in a week six days are active and the seventh day, Shabbat, is an outgrowth of the achievements of the preceding six days, so too the active part of a person’s life is 60 years and the last decade is an outgrowth of that time. A human being does not reach full spiritual maturity until the age of 20. While at 12 for a girl or 13 for a boy, a person is treated fully like an adult in Jewish law, prior to the age of 20 a person is not held culpable in a Heavenly court for their actions. We see therefore that the first third of a person’s active life is spent in a process of formation and maturation. A person at 20 is at the beginning of the stage of producing the fruits of their life. In physical space, in the Land of Israel, the first third of the year from Tishrei until four months later in Shvat is the the time when the majority of the rains of the year fall. It is cold and wet. Trees are soaking up the water, but they are only beginning to blossom and bring forth new fruit in Shvat. According to the Shem miShmuel, Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel are arguing over whether we beginning viewing the cycle of the year from Rosh Hashana or Sukkot. The date given by Beit Shammai for the New Year of the Trees is the first of Shevat. This is exactly four months after Rosh Hashana which is on the first of the month of Tishrei. The date of the fifteenth of Shevat given by Beit Hillel for the New Year of the Trees is exactly four month after the beginning of Sukkot on the fifteenth of Tishrei. Beit Shammai begins the cycle on Rosh Hashana because on Rosh Hashana we receive a new life force and potential for the year. However, according to the opinion of Beit Hillel we begin counting the cycle from Sukkot. We start with Sukkot because the beginning of the actualization of this new life force of Rosh Hashana only begins on Sukkot when we are judged on rainfall for the coming year. However, according to both opinions, Tu b’Shvat represents the end of winter on both a physical and personal level. The time period of spiritual winter, of development and maturation of the initial potential comes to an end. The time period of fully actualizing this potential begins. We see the same pattern in the world, time, and the human being. The first third is a period of internal development and maturation that leads to the second two thirds of producing and harvesting fruit. Tonight we are standing at the cusp in the year between potential and fruitfulness. Many people in this room are close to the age of twenty, the point in life in which a Jew is considered to have reached spiritual maturity. At twenty a person begins the stage of life of transitioning from maturation to fruitfulness. Eat a pomegranate and drink wine, both of which symbolize the deep wisdom of the Torah.

Part IV: In the 1800s, Jews from all over the world began moving back to the ​ ​ ​ Land of Israel as Zionism took root. As the Jewish people fell back in love with its ancient homeland, the holiday of Tu B’Shvat took on a new dimension and became a day of planting trees in Israel. Although this was a new practice, it fit with the verse in the Torah that says, “And when you come to the Land, plant all manner of fruit trees.” (Leviticus 19:23). ​ ​

In the late 1800s, with the Zionist movement, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook (1865-1935), the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel, wrote on the subject: The planting of fruit trees in the Land of Israel is not just an ordinary planting. It is a way in which we cling to the mitzvot of God, for He has ​ ​ been involved in planting and growing things on this earth from the Beginning. We read in the midrash on Leviticus (25:3), "Planting was the ​ ​ ​ ​ first thing that God did after He created the world. It says: "The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the East" (Genesis 2:8). So too, when ​ ​ you enter the Land of Israel, the first thing you should be doing is ​ ​ planting."

In 1924, Rabbi Kook, during the Tu BiShvat ceremony at Madgiel in the Sharon plain, was so overcome with emotion that tears flowed from his eyes, and his face became red with excitement. When he was offered a hoe for planting, he refused to use it and preferred instead to use his bare hands. He explained that since the ​ ​ planting of a tree in the Land of Israel is an act of holiness and not just an agricultural chore, it is preferable not to use a tool which stands between the person doing the planting and the Holy Land that one is cultivating.

Certain modern Zionist songs have entered into the collective consciousness of Israelis and Jews everywhere: השקדיה פורחת ושמש פז זורחת צפורים מראש כל גג מבשרות את בוא החג ​ ט"ו בשבט הגיע ​ חג לאילנות ט"ו בשבט הגיע ​ חג לאילנות

הארץ משועת הגיעה עת לטעת כל אחד יקח לו עץ באתים נצא חוצץ ​ ט"ו בשבט הגיע ​ חג לאילנות ט"ו בשבט הגיע ​ חג לאילנות

The almond tree is growing, A golden sun is glowing; Birds sing out in joyous glee From every roof and every tree. Tu BiShvat is here, the Jewish Arbor Day. Hail the trees' New Year, Happy Holiday!

Let’s make the land a garden, with water from the Jordan; And our land will flow once more With milk and honey, as of yore. Tu B’Shvat is here, the Jewish Arbor Day. Hail the trees' New Year, Happy Holiday!

Eat a fruit, such as an orange or avocado, which has been cultivated in Israel since the modern Aliyah movement.

th Century, people from all over the world realized that humans had been exploiting the natural resources Part V: In the late 20 ​ ​ of the planet at​ far too quick a pace. The​ y began living in a manner much friendlier to the environment and ecosystems. Jews from amongst this population added yet another dimension to the celebration of Tu B’Shvat, recasting it as a time to reconnect with the Earth and with humanity’s responsibility toward it:

בראשית פרק ב

:טו) ויקח ידוד אלהים את האדם וינחהו בגן עדן לעבדה ולשמרה)

Bereishit 2:15

And the LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and to protect it.

קהלת רבה (וילנא) פרשה ז

בשעה שברא הקב"ה את אדם הראשון נטלו והחזירו על כל אילני גן עדן ואמר לו ראה מעשי כמה נאים ומשובחין הן וכל מה שבראתי בשבילך בראתי, תן דעתך שלא תקלקל

ותחריב את עולמי, שאם קלקלת אין מי שיתקן אחריך

Kohelet Rabbah 7:13

When God created Adam, He led him through all the trees in the Garden of Eden and said: Look at My works. See how beautiful they are, how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil or destroy My world -- for if you do, there will be no one to repair it ​ ​ after you.

רמב"ם הלכות מלכים פרק ו הלכה ח ​ אין קוצצין אילני מאכל…שנאמר לא תשחית את עצה…ולא במצור בלבד אלא בכל מקום כל הקוצץ אילן מאכל דרך השחתה…אבל קוצצין אותו אם היה מזיק אילנות אחרים, או

.מפני שמזיק בשדה אחרים, או מפני שדמיו יקרים, לא אסרה תורה אלא דרך השחתה

Rambam Law of Kings 6:8

It is forbidden to chop down fruit trees…as it says ‘you shall not destroy its trees’…and this is not only during a siege, but any time one cuts down a fruit tree in a destructive manner…but it way be chopped down if it harms other trees, or if it is damaging another’s field, or because it’s very expensive; the Torah only forbade doing it in a destructive manner.

Eat a locally-grown organic fruit such as carob.

Don’t forget to make a bracha acharonah al-hamichya ve-al ha-gafen ve-al ha-peirot. ​ ​

Wish your friends a fruitful and productive new year!