Tu B'shvat Through the years

Tu B’Shvat, 5767 / 2007 A Still Small Voice המליך אות צדיק בלעיטה…שבט בשנה וקורקבן בנפש HaShem made the letter tsadik rule over fressing (indulgent eating), Shvat in the year and the gizzard in the soul. So, based on this tradition from the Sefer Yetzira, we all know that this month brings lights for the rectification of eating, although it’s interesting that the word used is לעיטה, and not אכילה. לעיטה is more gluttonous. It’s the word that Essav uses when he comes in from

This Tu B’Shvat teaching is dedicated to the complete and speedy recovery of Shoshana bat Sarah and was sponsored by some of her friends. Tu B’Shvat is the New Year’s day for fruit trees but it is important to note that this is not their day of judgment—that occurs months later in Sivan, on the holiday of Shavuot. The Mishna makes a distinction between these two types of days and lists four examples of each. The four New Year’s days are: 1st of Nissan – which starts a new yea

Tu B’Shvat, 5771 / 2011 Sarah Yehudit Schneider The Mishna informs us that there are actually four New Year’s days in the Jewish calendar as well as four Judgment Days[1]. It then proceeds to explain the significance of each. There is a subtle quirk in the Mishna’s language that begs interpretation. Among these eight red-letter days, three apply to fruit trees. The 1st of Tishrei marks the New Year for saplings[2]; the 15th of Shvat (Tu B’Shvat) marks the New Year for buddin

People who are accustomed to follow the kabbalistic Seder of fruits and wine on Tu B’Shvat organize their (thirty) fruits according to certain criteria. There are three intersecting (and somewhat conflicting) scales of measure. (The Intrinsic) Scale of KlipaThis scale measures an innate feature of the fruit itself—the amount, placement, and intensity of its klipah (the inedible skins and pits attached to the fruit). In mystical texts, klipa is the skin or shell that surrounds

It is customary to eat fruits and drink wine in celebration of TuB’Shvat, the Rosh HaShana of fruit trees. And it is fitting to admire each fruit and speak its praises before you eat it. In that spirit I present a tribute to wine. Of the five fruits indigenous to Israel only grapes can be processed in such a way that their “status” increases. When eaten off the vine the blessing we say is the same as for all fruits. But when turned into wine (or grape juice), an exclusive bl

Sarah Yehudit Schneider It is customary to eat fruits and drink wine in celebration of Tu B’Shvat, the Rosh HaShana of fruit trees. And it is fitting to admire each fruit and speak its praises before you eat it. In that spirit A Still Small Voice presents a tribute to wheat. Wheat has a special status in the Jewish tradition. As the staff of life, it is the most important food. A person could live on bread and water for an extended period of time. The thanksgiving prayer rec

By Sarah Yehudit Schneider The first of Shevat is the New Year for trees, says the School of Shammai. Beth Hillel disputes this and rules that it falls on the fifteenth of the month. [Mishna RH 1:1] The Mishna informs us that there are four New Year’s days in the Jewish calendar as well as four Judgment Days [1]. It then proceeds to explain the significance of each. There is a subtle quirk in the Mishna’s language that begs interpretation. Among these eight red-letter days, t

Tu B’Shvat 5777 / 2017 Sarah Yehudit Schneider God made grow out of the ground every tree that is pleasant to look at and good to eat, [including] the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil…God gave the man a commandment, saying, ‘You may definitely eat from every tree of the garden. But from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, do not eat, for on the day you eat from it, you will definitely die.’…The woman replied to the serpe

Tu B’Shvat, 5778 / 2018 Sarah Yehudit Schneider All the trees of the field (שִֹיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה) did not yet exist on the earth, and all the wild plants had not yet sprouted. This was because God had not brought rain on the earth, and there was no human to work the ground. [Gen 2:5.]וְכֹל | שִֹיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ וְכָל-עֵשֶֹב הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִצְמָח כִּי לֹא הִמְטִיר יְי ﭏהִים עַל-הָאָרֶץ וְאָדָם אַיִן לַעֲבֹד אֶת-הָאֲדָמָהSIACH HASADEH (TREES OF THE FIELD) …The

Tu B’Shvat teachings over the years (2007-present).

5780 / 2020 Sarah Yehudit Schneider The word for etrog (אתרוג) relates to the Hebrew root, רגג, which means, “to long and desire.” For this reason etrog corresponds to to the heart area, the center of conscious emotion and desire. Etrog is not indigenous to Israel.[1] It is not one of the famous “seven species” that HaShem brings to prove that the land of Israel is His most precious real estate. This is probably because etrog is not a tree that survives well in arid climates

Tu B’Shvat 5779 / 2019 Sarah Yehudit Schneider “If the Torah had not been given, we would still have learned modesty from the cat, industriousness from the ant…” and many important instructions-by-example from the plant kingdom. [TB Eruvin 100b] For example, fruit trees teach us that a “klipah precedes the fruit and serves to guard it” הקליפה קודמת להיות משמרת לפרי)).” [Ari, Likutei Torah, Bereshit and numerous other places]. The klipah’s tough (and often green) husk protect

The Still Small VoiceTu B’Shvat Hagada, fifteen years in the making, is finally available for public enjoyment. This full color, 8.5″ x 11″, 96 page, spiral bound booklet is rich in content and beautiful in presentation. A sample of which appears below.It provides clear instructions for organizing a Tu B’Shvat seder and brings short but meaningful teachings about each fruit. It creates an engaging ritual that honors the wonder, generosity and diversity of our branched and roo

Science identifies certain functions that comprise the very definition of life. For example, a digestive system where nutrients flow in and waste flows out. Or respiration where oxygen enters to enable certain chemical reactions and then exits as CO2. Every living organism (by definition) is an “open system” with inflows and outflows. Like the whirlpool of a bathtub drain, where the shape stays stable though the actual water comprising it is constantly changing. So is this t