Tu B'Shevat
Tu B'Shvat, the New Year of Trees, falls on the fifteenth day of the month of Shvat. It originated in a pagan festival honoring Asherah, goddess of farmers and fertility. Her chief festival took place at the end of the rainy season, when the sap begins to rise in the fruit trees of Israel. – in other words, at the first signs of spring. In recent years, Jewish communities around the world have begun to celebrate Tu B'Shvat as a "Jewish Earth Day" - organizing seders, tree-plantings, ecological restoration activities, and educational events, all of which provide an opportunity to express a Jewish commitment to protecting the earth. Our humanistic celebration of Tu B'shvat embraces the importance of our obligation to care for and heal the world. Throughout, language from the Torah, the Kabbalists, and other theistic sources links our our environmental ideals to Jewish culture and tradition. Download the CHJ Tu B'Shevat seder service in Word format
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