Skip to content
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good.
Genesis 1:11-12
Tu BiShevat is the ancient New Year for Trees. Traditionally, it served as the cutoff date for counting the age of fruit trees for agricultural laws such as tithes and the prohibition on eating fruit from a tree in its first three years.
In modern times Tu BiShevat seder is a celebration of our love for trees and of our gratitude for all the gifts that the trees give to us. It is also a time to delve into some of the teachings from the Jewish mystical tradition, contemplating the Garden of Eden and the Trees of Life and Knowledge.
Join Rabbi Karen online: Sunday, February 1, 6pm
You may wish to create a Tu biShevat seder plate with fruits and nuts, the gifts of the trees, with consideration of all the ways these fruits are preserved. Fruit categories include:
- Edible inside and inedible outside, such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, citrus
- Edible outside but inedible core, such as dates, olives, cherries, apricots, plums,
- Edible throughout, such as figs, grapes, raisins, blueberries
- Fragrant gifts like rosemary, cinnamon, bay leaf, ceder
