Seder Tu B'shvat

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.

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