Rabbi's Chayva's Chat

Happy Tu B’shvat! Tu B’shvat is the new year, the annual turning point, for all trees, which happens on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat. (“Tu” represents 15 because the letter tet has a numerical value of 9 and the letter vav has a numerical value of 6; 9+6=15.) Over the course of two thousand years, Tu B’shvat has developed into a celebration of ecology, a seder of nuts and fruit, and a mystical reflection on the four worlds. In our Beit Sefer Chadash Tu B’shvat Seder last Sunday (see photo below), we learned about the seven species of the land of Israel, and the four types of fruit to help us grow our emotional intelligence. The four types of fruit are those that are soft all the way through (for example, grapes), those that have hard pits but soft exteriors (dates), soft centers but hard exteriors (oranges), and both hard exterior and hard centers (pineapple). Rabbinic teaching says that these represent the four types of people, but the kids and I recognized that we can each be all of these types, and it’s important for us to realize our emotional state and the impact it has on ourselves and others.

Today is the perfect day to share that the Am Tikvah Board of Trustees recently approved an initiative led by Terry Levy to help Am Tikvah become an environmentally sustainable community! If you would like to help us build a Climate Action Plan, join the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, improve our compost/recycling/trash signage, lead our community education, and more, email Terry. Teens and young congregants are particularly encouraged to join, and will be full-fledged members of the decision-making team.

We will reflect on the themes of Tu B’shvat again this Saturday during our Annual Shabbat Shirah Concert! Rabbi Aura has prepared an excellent program, augmented by Ariela and Inara Morgenstern performing a Yiddish song in honor of David Morgenstern. The evening will be social, musical, moving, and fully enjoyable, and I hope everyone comes! It’s also our fundraiser this year, so please take a moment to reflect on how Am Tikvah is growing and come be a part of it. Can’t wait to see you there!