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) 

Tu Bish'vat

***Exclusive offer: get 30% off Kabbalah and Ecology through the week of Tu Bishvat! Order from Cambridge U. Press by 2/11.


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.
tree of life
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!


Click to read "Being Here Now: This Creation is the Divine Image" (Tikkun Winter 2017)


For Tu bishvat, a round to sing at your seder: "K'eitz shatul": mp3 sheet music

For zoom! Slide version of neohasid’s flowchart haggadah

  • Fewer words, bigger text, more science, an all-around great zoom-ready version of the well-known save-the-trees haggadah
  • Get this amazing Tu Bishvat Haggadah Art! tree adventure

    A visual haggadah for your at-home seder - great for every age!

    The blessing from the first published Tu Bish'vat Seder

    From the 16/17th century haggadah, P'ri Eitz Hadar.
    Download a pdf with a modern version of this prayer, Hebrew + English!

    "The works" for Tu Bishvat

    Haggadot, brakhot, text study sheets, in one zip file (but not the songs). Updated for 2020. Direct download ~ 7 MB

    A simple Tu Bishvat Haggadah

    An all-English simple haggadah for Tu Bishvat with intro and blessings. New: all smell blessings included, symbiosis theme added

    The One-page Save-the-trees flowchart Haggadah!

    A flowchart haggadah on a single sheet, in three versions. Plus some quick links to other resources

    Borei N'fashot Blessing after Eating

    The most ecological prayer in all of Judaism,
    on an art card, good for the end of your Tubi seder and every day!

    A Sukkot song adapted for Tu Bishvat (Umei-ushpizin)

    from Satmar, a setting for part of the P'ri Etz Hadar blessing

    A basic version of the well-loved flowchart Haggadah

    An haggadah all in English with a smidgeon of Kabbalah, accessible for beginners to Kabbalah or to Jewish practices

    The Ultimate Text Crunching Sheet for Tu Bish'vat

    Study, for many days or for one seder, some of the great Jewish and Kabbalistic texts on fruit, trees and the earth

    Earthprayers on neohasid.org

    Ten options to use or to inspire your own

    Tu Bish'vat wisdom

    Three teachings about how holy eating brings blessing to all life and all creatures, submitted by Rabbi Jacob Fine

    Shirat ha'asavim ~ The Song of the Grasses

    A rough recording of the well-known Naomi Shemer tune

    How to make a Kabbalistic Tu Bishvat Seder

    Instructions on how to run a seder, how to use the blessing from the first Tu Bishvat seder, and how to use the One-page Haggadah chart

    A Prayer for the Earth – Hebrew and English

    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

    The Holy Table

    Teaching from the Zohar: How is a table like a fruit tree? And how can it be a source of blessing, like a fruit tree?

    The Giving Tree: Planting for Tu Bishvat, alternatives to JNF

    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).

    Birkat Ha-ilanot

    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

    Longer meditations on Pri Etz Hadar

    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




     

    Mini Menu

    Blessing from the first published Seder ~
    "The works" for Tu Bishvat ~
    A simple Tu Bishvat Haggadah ~
    One-page flowchart Haggadah plus more links ~
    The Ultimate Text Crunching Sheet for Tu Bish'vat ~
    Earthprayers on neohasid.org ~
    Shirat ha'asavim ~
    How to make a Tu Bishvat Seder ~
    A Prayer for the Earth – Hebrew and English ~
    The Giving Tree: A Way to Honor Our Vision for Israel ~
    Birkat Ha-ilanot ~
    Longer meditations on Pri Etz Hadar ~
    Are KKL-JNF the good guys? ~
    Tu Bish'vat wisdom ~
    Longer meditations on Pri Etz Hadar ~
    Tu Bish'vat wisdom ~
    Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006, 2007