Friday, February 6, 2009

Tu B'Shvat, the day for Jewish hippies

Tu B'Shvat (literally, the 15th of the month of Shvat), is a relatively minor Jewish holiday. So why is it seeing a resurgence with young Jews across the country?

Known as 'Chag Ha Elanot', or Festival/Holiday of the Trees, Tu B'Shvat has become a focal point for activism-minded Jews, particularly in the ecological and environmental space. As the Jewish Arbor day, there are a myriad of interesting ways that people choose to observe and celebrate.

One tradition is a Seder, much in the same format as Pesach (including 4 glasses of wine). To learn more and see a great example of a Tu B'Shvat Seder, check this out

More recently, though, new traditions are emerging focusing on volunteering and community involvement. JGrads, for example, is organizing a day trip to help out with a new garden (details here)

How do you connect with Judaisms traditional agricultural and natural bonds?

2 comments:

JillTrufant said...

Thanks for posting the seder! I used it today for my celebration, and it was wonderful!

Jill

M-teen said...

you know i'm going to the jgrads event at the gateway greening garden! (if anyone else wants to go...) it's going to be sweet