How to Celebrate Tu Bishvat

Mystics view Tu Bishvat as a day to ascend the spiritual Tree of Life. Zionists saw the holiday as the New Year of Trees, devoted to planting trees in Israel. In synagogues throughout the United States, Tu Bishvat (January 22, 2000) signifies a time to celebrate nature and lend a hand to environmental causes.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Jewish Cookbooks
• Narcissus Bulbs
• Shovels
• Trees
• Fruits
• Nuts
• Nutcrackers

1. Feast on fruits and nuts - especially almonds, carobs and the 7 species mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8.
2. Say the appropriate blessing for each kind of fruit. There's one for fruit that grows on trees and another for fruit you're eating for the first time this season.
3. Hold a Tu Bishvat Seder, which is much like the Passover Seder. You'll find recipes and inspiration in books available through your local synagogue or Jewish bookstore.
4. Send money to the Jewish National Fund to have a tree planted in Israel.
5. Plant a tree in your yard if the weather allows. If it's still too wintry where you live, fill a big bowl with paperwhite narcissus bulbs, then peruse books and nursery catalogs for the perfect tree to plant come spring.
6. Learn about plants native to your area and add some of them to your garden.
7. Take a family cleanup walk on a beach, in the woods, or even along a city sidewalk, and pick up all the litter you find.
8. Choose an environmental group and make a commitment to support its efforts with money, volunteer work or both.

Tips & Warnings

• The blessing for fruits that grow on trees is "Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the trees."
• For eating a fruit for the first time this year: "Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season."
• There is also a blessing for the time you see the first blooms of fruit trees in the spring: "Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who has left nothing lacking in the world, and created in it goodly creatures and beautiful trees to delight people's hearts."