February 12, 2009

Shalom,

It never ceases to amaze me how the Bible and our acquired traditions meet the needs and fill the spiritual void of generations so many years later. How special it is while living in the bustling, modern city of Jerusalem, with all of the latest technology, to have a mandatory Jewish holiday once a year to simply celebrate nature. This holiday which calls us to rejoice in God’s creation is called Tu B’Shvat.

Here in Israel we don’t do much importing of fruits and vegetables, so the Israeli people eat what is in season. Most of our food is grown on our Holy Land’s soil and arrives at our homes within days of being harvested. Often times when I pick up a fruit to eat, I recite a blessing over it and take a moment to reflect on how lucky I am to be eating the fruits of Israel – something my ancestors could only have dreamed about through two thousand years of exile!

I sit for a minute and wonder if the grapes in my home came from the same vine that bore the grapes that were made into wine by Aaron the Priest, or if the tree my dates came from was used as shade for Joshua when he conquered ancient Israel. It is easy to forget where our nourishment comes from and the Divine attention that it takes to keep nature functioning correctly. That is why we celebrate Tu B’Shvat – to recognize the natural cycles of the world and thank God for keeping us alive by allowing them to occur.

On Tu B’Shvat we give recognition to the order of the world that God put in motion which is called nature, something we often take for granted. This one day a year we celebrate the truth that everything in the world is miraculous and God’s doing – nothing is mundane. How rare it is that we praise God for turning a seed into a tree or buds into a fruit. Yet, that is not how it should be.

On Tu B’Shvat I realized that every day I walk past the pomegranate tree outside my house and simply take it for granted. If only I recognized and comprehended what an intricate process took place to produce that beautiful tree, I would walk around entranced by God’s kindness every second of the day. God supplies our needs, both physically and spiritually, while concealing Himself in the process. But on Tu B’Shvat we acknowledge what we often neglect, and return all recognition for our wonderful world to Him.

Tu B’Shvat is often referred to as the “new year of the trees.” At first, this may seem odd. But trees represent spiritual continuity and the yearning of a parent to pass down their traditions and beliefs to their children, a deeply spiritual concept which applies to every generation. When an older person toils to plant a tree they often plant it knowing that they will not live to see the tree bear fruit. Yet they plant it with the intention of their children and grandchildren enjoying and appreciating the result their labor. So too, when we worship God and perform good deeds, we are planting a seed in the world. Even if we do not see an immediate change in the world from our positive actions, we are confident that the seed of our doings will one day come to fruition.

Our every act has an effect on the world. That is why God gave us the Bible as a guideline for life– to ensure that the actions we perform help reveal His great kindness, not conceal it. Through eating the fruit from plants and trees planted long ago, Tu B’Shvat connects us to the sacrifices, deeds, and intentions of previous generations. That is why it is tradition to eat lots of fruit to celebrate the holiday. We are literally enjoying the fruit of our ancestor’s labor and making a vow to continue the tradition of preparing the world for future generations.

I celebrated this Tu B’Shvat in Jerusalem with thanks and praise, together with my husband and daughter. Raising my family in Jerusalem I realize that my responsibility is more defined than it would have been if I had stayed in the U.S. I must better the Holy Land for my little children and teach them how to appreciate the fruit, both material and spiritual, that God provides for us. It is my obligation to educate them about our history and rights to this land and pray that they will recognize the sacrifice that our ancestors made so that we could call Jerusalem our home. In 1948 my ancestors planted a tree and named that tree Israel. I am the fruit that their toils have produced and my children, God Willing, will continue the cycle.

With blessings from Jerusalem,
Yael