Happy birthday, trees! The holiday of Tu B’Shvat (which literally means “the 15th of Shvat”) is a time to rejoice in the splendor of the natural world.

Connecting with the Land

Jews and the land are deeply intertwined. Notice the closeness between the Hebrew words for human (Adam) and the earth (Adamah). When we die, Jewish burial customs ensure our bodies can return to the land. And while alive, we have our own set of laws about how to live on and with the earth.

For example, according to Jewish law, you can’t eat fruit from a tree that’s less than three years old. But how would you tally how old your trees are? Should you record the moment each seedling germinates? Well, that’s what Tu B’Shvat is for! This day kicks off the new calendar year for agricultural cycles. All the new saplings are given the same official “birthday.”

Seder Season

In the Middle Ages, Rabbis developed a Tu B’Shvat meal — a Seder — to celebrate the earth’s incredible array of fruit and nuts. Just like at Passover, this one also involves drinking four cups of wine or grape juice.

For your friends or Well Circle, organize a multi-sensory appreciation of four types of fruit:

• A fruit with a hard, inedible outside but a soft, edible inside (e.g., walnut, almond, coconut)
• A fruit with a soft, edible outside, but hard inedible pit (e.g., date, peach, olive)
• A fruit that is fully edible (e.g., fig, blueberry, raspberry)
• A fruit with a tough skin but soft, edible inside (e.g., mango, banana, avocado)

Slow down as you enjoy each one. Mindfully appreciate the aroma, texture, and taste.

Let’s Discuss

When are you like a walnut, walled off and protected? When are you like a fig, soft and yielding? Do you default in one direction or another? Is there something you want to cultivate more of in this new year?

Interested in hosting a more elaborate Tu B’Shvat Seder? Find a Tu B’Shvat Haggadah that speaks to you, such as Juliette Hirt’s Mystical Tu Bishvat Haggadah or the Tu B’Shvat Haggadah: Hazon Seder and Sourcebook.