The
Baal Shem Tov, or Besht — the founder of Chasidism —
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven.
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?"
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!"
(from a letter
written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents)
Find ideas about leading the seder, the prayer for the trees from the original seder, connections to the Shmita year, texts to learn and teach at your seder, reflections on the JNF, and more.
detail from "Vision" by Bonnie L. Sachs, 2015
These very rich resources are rooted in an ecological interpretation of Kabbalah.
If you think about the Tu Bishvat seder, as we move through the four worlds, from one kind of "fruit" to the next, we reach greater and greater symbiosis.
At the first level, when we eat nuts with a shell, we are destroying the seed that needs to be planted in order to feed ourselves. At the second level, fruit with a pit, we are eating the fruit and discarding the seed, so we cannot pass the seed through our bodies. At the third level, wholly edible fruit, meaning fruit with seeds small enough to swallow, we are in complete symbiosis, and we can pass the seed through our digestive tract to fertilize and nourish it. Enjoy your holy Tu Bishvat meal!
Y'kum Purkan Lish'maya: A prayer for the earth, for use in your synagogue, minyan, or havurah; for Earth Day, Rainbow Day, Shabbat Noach, Shabbat Behar/Bechukotai, everyday
Planting a tree for the future with JNF sounds like second nature, a wise investment for both Israel and the planet. But there are better ways to plant trees at Tu Bish'vat (or during the Omer, when it's really planting time).
Once a year there is Jewish custom is to say a special blessing on flowering fruit trees. It happens in spring, especially during the Omer, but it's also a good teaching for Tu Bish'vat. You'll also find some other good tree texts here
Imagine a Jewish practice which has the purpose of restoring all the species and creatures, and all the sparks they contain, to the fullness of blessing
