On Tu B’Shevat we celebrate a New Year for the Trees, rejoicing in the fruit of the tree and the fruit of the vine, celebrating the splendid, abundant gifts of the natural world which give our senses delight and our bodies life. Tu B’Shevat marks the beginning of spring in Israel. Sustaining rains are at the peak of their power and the world responds, brimming with buds of fragrant life. To mark this moment, school children plant trees. Often these trees have been provided by the contributions of Jewish students abroad through the good offices of the Jewish National Fund. For Jews outside of Israel, Tu B’Shevat is a celebration of the renewal of vision and awareness, a celebration of connections and connectedness–to our own inner-selves, to the social world of human beings, and to the natural world and its Source.
