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RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:TU B' SHEVAT SEDER HAGADDAH:
JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
A TU B' SHEVAT SEDER ''HAGADDAH''
BY RABBI DR. ARTHUR SEGAL
[Permission to use is freely granted with credit given to the Author]
Host: Welcome!! A joyous Yom Yov!! Happy Tu B' Shevat. Happy New Year to our Trees !!
Guest: " There is not even a single blade of grass that does not have angel over it making it grow.'' This is from the Midrash Rabbah 10: 6.
G: Today is the birthday for our trees. The Talmud tells us that the 15th of the Jewish Month of Tevat, when there is a full moon, is to be celebrated as the New Year for Trees. It was the date used to determine when the fruit of a tree could be used by its owner, and when the first 4 years of produce were donated to the Temple to be used for charity.
G: When the Temple was destroyed and Judaism replaced Hebraism, Jews celebrated this holiday by eating the seven grains and fruits associated with the land of Israel in the Torah, the Jewish bible.
G: These seven species, called Shiv'at Ha-min-im, in Hebrew are: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. We use four colors of wine for our grapes . We include almonds as well, as these blossom this week in Israel.
G: This is based on the Torah's verse from Deuteronomy 8:8 : ''For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land: ... A land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs and pomegranates; a land of oil-yielding olives and date honey.''
G: The Kabbalists assigned spiritual and mystical qualities to each of the foods to teach us lessons about living. The four cups of wine symbolize acting, relating, knowing, and being.
G: Tu b'Shevat has been called the first Earth Day as it celebrates all of the ecological commandments in the Torah and Talmud. They can be summed up with the Jewish notion bal tash-chit to neither to destroy wantonly, nor waste resources unnecessarily. Jews have countless laws in the Torah and Talmud to adjure us to open our eyes, and act responsibly and compassionately toward the world around us. We are reminded of these edicts on this holiday at this seder.
Cantor 1: At this moment, we are like farmers looking at our empty fields in winter. We have faith that if we plant, our crops will grow. We begin our Seder with a glass of White Wine symbolizing the white, calm sleeping winter.
We say the blessing: Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.
And for those who wish to chant with us in Hebrew, we sing: Ba-Ruch A-tah A-do-nai, El-o-ha-nu Mel-eck ha-o-lam, bo-rah pe-ree ha-gah-fen.
G: "A man is a tree of the field" reads Deuteronomy 20:19, and fruit is the tree's highest achievement. Our Kabbalistic sages tell us that each and every one of us has not one, but two souls: an animal soul, which embodies our natural, self-oriented instincts; and a Godly soul, embodying our transcendent drives--our desire to escape the ego and relate to that which is greater than ourselves.
Tu b'Shevat is yet another Jewish holiday where we work on our Spiritual Renewal to break out of ego, and let the love of God and love for our fellows into our lives.
H: Let us pass around the plates of food with the olives and the dates. These are fruits with one seed.
We say two blessings:
Cantor 2: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who creates fruit of the tree. And we sing: Ba-Ruch a-ta A-do-nai El-o-hei-nu Mel-ech ha-o-lam, bo-rei p-ree ha'etz.
and
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.
And we sing: Ba-ruch a-ta Ad-on-ai El-o-hei-nu Mel-ech Ha-o-lam, she-hech-i-ya-nu, vi-ki-ye-ma-nu, vi-hig-i-a-nu laz-man ha-zeh.
G: The Talmud in Tractate Ta'anit page 23a tells the story of the sage Honi the Circle Maker, who could summon the rains to come within a circle he would draw on the ground.
He saw an old man digging in the ground and he asked what he was doing. The old man said he was planting a carob tree. Honi remarked: '' But a carob tree takes 70 years before it yields fruit. You won't get an carobs.'' The old man said: " My parents and my grandparents, planted trees so that I could have fruit. I am planting trees so that my children and grandchild should have fruit as well.''
G: The sages teach that just like a small seed in an olive or a date, every loving action we take, no matter how small, helps make this earth a better place.
G: Zeit She-men is the Hebrew word for olives. Olives symbolize peace and hope. From the time of Noah and the flood, the olive branch has been a sign of hope for an enduring future.
"God fed Israel honey from the crag and olive oil from the flinty rock." (Deuteronomy 32:13). Olive trees grow anywhere - even under the most adverse conditions. As olive trees stand firm in all kinds of terrain, so will we endure and remain strong no matter what the circumstance. "Atz-ei zeit-i-mom-dim" , the olive trees are still standing.
If there is someone you've hurt, near or far, extend the olive branch. Send a jar of olives, a container of olive oil, or any food made with olives, along with a note of Teshuvah, amends.
"God fed Israel honey from the crag and olive oil from the flinty rock." (Deuteronomy 32:13). Olive trees grow anywhere - even under the most adverse conditions. As olive trees stand firm in all kinds of terrain, so will we endure and remain strong no matter what the circumstance. "Atz-ei zeit-i-mom-dim" , the olive trees are still standing.
If there is someone you've hurt, near or far, extend the olive branch. Send a jar of olives, a container of olive oil, or any food made with olives, along with a note of Teshuvah, amends.
G: The olive in us is that part of ourselves that thrives on struggle. Just like an olive, say our sages, which yields its oil only when pressed, so, too, do we yield what is best in us only when pressed between the millstones of life and the counter forces of a divided self. Yet our goal is to become integrated, one with God, with our fellows, in true Shalom.
G: D'vash is Date-Honey in Hebrew. We are to be always concerned for all Living Things (Tz'a-ar Ba'al-ei Hay-yim). While originally d'vash referred to the honey-like date syrup, today honey comes from the hard work of bees, the most humble of creatures.
Once, when a Kabbalist rabbi was walking in the fields, lost deep in thought, the young student with him inadvertently plucked a leaf off a branch. The Rabbi was visibly shaken by this act, and turning to his companion he said gently, "Believe me when I tell you I never simply pluck a leaf or a blade of grass or any living thing, unless I have to." He explained further, "Every part of the vegetable world is singing a song and breathing forth a secret of the divine mystery of the Creation." For the first time the young student understood what it means to show compassion to all creatures and began to learn the wisdom of the Mystics.
The Talmud teaches us if we have a pet, or any animal, to feed it before we eat. Make sure its water dish is filled and clean. Volunteer at a local animal shelter. Try not to buy products that are animal-tested or that exploit endangered species.
Once, when a Kabbalist rabbi was walking in the fields, lost deep in thought, the young student with him inadvertently plucked a leaf off a branch. The Rabbi was visibly shaken by this act, and turning to his companion he said gently, "Believe me when I tell you I never simply pluck a leaf or a blade of grass or any living thing, unless I have to." He explained further, "Every part of the vegetable world is singing a song and breathing forth a secret of the divine mystery of the Creation." For the first time the young student understood what it means to show compassion to all creatures and began to learn the wisdom of the Mystics.
The Talmud teaches us if we have a pet, or any animal, to feed it before we eat. Make sure its water dish is filled and clean. Volunteer at a local animal shelter. Try not to buy products that are animal-tested or that exploit endangered species.
G: Let us pass the plates with figs and pomegranates. These are fruits with many seeds. We seed hope and love in others with our acts of kindness many times during the day, and with our acts that take care of our environment so that our children's children have a wonderful earth.
G: Note how there is no relationship between the size of the tree and the size of the seed. We can never know what a small act of loving kindness can mean to another person.
G: The Midrash teaches that the Torah, the Bible, is like a fig, Te'enah, in Hebrew. Every fruit has some inedible part, but all parts of the fig are good to eat. Following the paths of Torah, the Bible, will hopefully lead to an era of peace, a time when "every person will call to his neighbor from under his vine and fig tree." (Zechariah, 3:10).
G: If you count the seeds of the pomegranate, (Rimon), you will find 613, more or less - the number of mitzvoth (commandments) in the Torah. "May we be as full of mitzvoth as the pomegranate is full of seeds," meaning may be live a life doing God's will.
Cantor 3: Now we take our white wine. We add a few drops of red wine to it. Note the slight change in color symbolizing spring and hope and the restless rebirth of nature. It reminds us of our own spiritual renewal. Again we sing: Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai, El-o-ha-nu Mel-eck ha-o-lam, bo-rah pe-ree ha-gah-fen.
H: Pass around some almonds. Hope doesn't come easy to those who have a history of oppression. However, when we take on the hardest tasks, we reap the best rewards. The almond has a very hard shell, similar to a chestnut or walnut. The Hebrew word for almond tree is Shek-ay-di-yah. The Hebrew word for almond is sha-ked and both come from the same word as shak-dan, which means a hard working, diligent person. Think of the team work it took and all of the tasks it took to produce this one almond...planting, picking, shelling, packing, shipping, and buying.
When we work together as a team, great things can happen.
Cantor 1: King David wrote:'' Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity. ''
And we sing:
Hi-nei ma tov u-ma na-im, shev -et ach -im gam ya-chad
repeat
Hi-nei ma tov, shev -et ach -im gam ya-chad .
repeat
Hi-nei ma tov u-ma na-im, shev -et ach -im gam ya-chad
repeat.
Cantor 2: Now we get ready for the third glass of wine: Fill it half with white and half with red. This is the brightness of fall. This is to remind us that we are all equal in the eyes of God, and equal partners with God, in helping to repair the world, Tikun Olam, in Kabbalistic terms. In autumn we have a harvest, but soon winter will come.
And we sing again: Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai, El-o-ha-nu Mel-eck ha-o-lam, bo-rah pe-ree ha-gah-fen.
Hostess: Our job is to help spread hope just as a tree in the winter, barren , reminds us that it will soon bloom and hope is always present. We light candles to symbolize hope on this holiday, Rosh ha Shana ha Atz-im, the New Year for Trees:
Ba-ruch A-ta A-do-nai, El-o-ha-nu Mel-ech ha-o-lam, a-sher Kid-di-sha-nu ba-mitz-vo-tav, vitz-se-vah-nu, la-had-lik ner, shel yom tov.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and has commanded us to light the candles of this holiday.
Cantor 3: We are soon coming to the end of our Seder. We now will drink from a glass of wine that is all red. This symbolizes the bright sun of summer. And again we sing: Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai, El-o-ha-nu Mel-eck ha-o-lam, bo-rah pe-ree ha-gah-fen.
Cantor 1: Our last two species are wheat and barley: in Hebrew Hit-tah and Se'or-ah. Ethics of the Fathers in the Talmud reads: ''Im ein ke-mah, ein To-rah.'' Literally, this verse means, "Without flour, there is no Torah." If you can't nourish your body, you can't nourish your soul; if you can't feed yourself, you can't find time to study.
So as we break bread, we say : Blessed are You, Lord our God, Who brings forth bread from the Earth. And we sing: Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, El-o-hai-nu Mel-ech ha-O-lam, ha-Mot-zi lech-em min ha-er-etz.
G: To conclude the seder, we recite the following verse from Psalm 21:1: L'A-do-nai ha-a-retz u-m'lo'ah. (Psalms 24:1).'' The Earth and all its fullness belong to God. '' We are the caretakers of the Earth, and it is up to us to protect and preserve its beauty. Happy Tu b'Shevat!
Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hebrew College Yeshiva, Newton Centre, MA
via Shamash online class service
Hilton Head Island, SC
Bluffton, SC
Savannah, GA
Acknowledgements: R. Musleah ,Rabbi M. Klayman ,Y. Abramowitz, and M. Fine
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