Shalom everyone,
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Draft Press Release: JEWISH GROUP URGES THAT TU B'SHVAT BE CONSIDERED A JEWISH EARTH DAY
2. CELEBRATING TU B'SHVAT TREES, BLESSINGS, AND ISRAEL'S ECOLOGY by Jonathan Wolf
3. RESOURCES ON TU B'SHVAT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
4. GROUPS WORKING TO IMPROVE ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENT
5. MORE RESOURCES FOR TU B'SHVAT
6. SOME TEXTS ABOUT TU B'SHVAT THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE LAND OF ISRAEL
7. Tu B'Shvat and Vegetarianism by Richard Schwartz
8. WHY IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT? THOUGHTS ON TU B'SHVAT by Richard Schwartz
9. Preserving the sacred environment: A religious imperative by Richard Schwartz
10. Sample Letter to the Jewish Media re Turning Tu B'Shvat into a Jewish Earth Day
11. Sample Flyer for a Tu B'Shvat Seder
12. Sample Announcement for a Tu B'Shvat Seder
Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
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Some of this newsletter was prepared a few years ago, so some material might be outdated.
1. Draft Press Release: JEWISH GROUP URGES THAT TU B'SHVAT BE CONSIDERED A JEWISH EARTH DAY
[Special thanks to JVNA founder and founding president Jonathan Wolf for suggesting this idea many years ago and promoting it in many ways since.]
For Immediate Release:
January 11, 2009
Contact:
Richard H. Schwartz, President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
President@JewishVeg.com Phone: (718) 761-5876
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) issued the following statement today:
In view of the major threats to Israel and, indeed, the entire world from global warming and other environmental problems, it is essential that the Jewish community join with others in responding, and an excellent time to start is Tu B'Shvat, which starts this year at sundown on Sunday evening, February 8. This increasingly popular “New Year for the trees” should be considered a “Jewish Earth Day.”
With Israel facing the worst drought in its history, and with the Israeli Union for Environmental Defense projecting that, if present trends continue, global warming will result in Israel soon facing major heat waves, a reduction of rainfall of up to 30 percent, severe storms causing major flooding, and a rising Mediterranean Sea which would inundate the coastal plain where most Israelis live, rabbis and other Jewish leaders should support and join major efforts to combat global warming.
“It is urgent that tikkun olam-the healing and repair of the world -- be a central issue in synagogues, Jewish schools and other Jewish institutions,” stated Richard Schwartz, president of JVNA. “Judaism has splendid teachings on environmental conservation and sustainability, and it is essential that they be applied to respond to the many current environmental threats, in order to move our imperiled planet to a sustainable path.”
Consistent with the fact that all the foods at the traditional Tu B'Shvat seder are from plants, JVNA also urges rabbis and other Jewish leaders to make Jews aware of how plant-based diets are most consistent with basic Jewish mandates to preserve human health, treat animals compassionately, protect the environment, conserve natural resources and help hungry people.
According to a UN Food and Agricultural Organization 2006 report, animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) than all the cars, planes, ships and other means of transportation worldwide combined. The report projects that the number of farmed animals worldwide, currently about 56 billion, will double in 50 years. If that happened, the increased greenhouse gas emissions would negate the effects of many positive changes that environmentalists support. Hence a major societal shift to vegetarianism is imperative.
Further information about these issues can be found at the JVNA web site JewishVeg.com. JVNA will provide complimentary copies of its new documentary A SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JEWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD and related materials to rabbis and other Jewish leaders who will contact them (mail@jewishVeg.com) and indicate that they will consider using them to involve their congregations on the issues.
We plan to contact rabbis and other Jewish leaders and urge them to make Tu B'Shvat a Jewish Earth Day.
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Supporting material includes the following:
The threats are really worldwide. There are daily reports of severe droughts, storms, flooding and wildfires and about meltings of polar icecaps and glaciers. All this due to an average temperature increase of about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years, and global climate scientists are projecting an increase of from 3 to 11 degrees Farhrenheit in the next 100 years, and this would result in an unprecedented catastrophe for humanity.
Some climate scientists are warning that global warming could reach a tipping point and spin out of control in a few years, with disastrous consequences, unless major changes soon occur
Al Gore pointed out that the United States must free itself from fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy sources by 2018. He stressed the urgency of the change by stating: 'the survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk,' and that 'The future of human civilization is at stake.'
When we read daily reports of the effects of global climate change, such as record heat waves, severe flooding, widespread droughts, unprecedented numbers of wild fires, and the melting of glaciers and polar icecaps; when some climate scientists are warning that global climate change may spin out of control with disastrous consequences unless major changes are soon made; when a recent report indicated that our oceans may be virtually free of fish by 2050; when species of plants and animals are disappearing at the fastest rate in history; when it is projected that half of the world's people will live in areas chronically short of water by 2050; it is essential that the Jewish community fulfill our mandate to be a “light unto the nations” and lead efforts to address these critical issues.
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2. CELEBRATING TU B'SHVAT TREES, BLESSINGS, AND ISRAEL'S ECOLOGY by Jonathan Wolf
[This article was written a few years ago.]
The holiday of Tu B'Shvat is a minor one on the Jewish calendar. It appears nowhere in the Bible, and when it first appears in Jewish literature, in the Mishna, its very date is the subject of dispute. Yet today it is an occasion rich with symbolism and significance, because of what it represents: nature and the environment, and the bounty of the Land of Israel.
Tu B'Shvat originated as one of the four New Years prescribed in Jewish law [Mishna Rosh Hashana 1:1]. It was established as the New Year of Trees, a kind of dividing line of the fiscal year for prescribing tithes, orlah (the first 3 years of a tree's life), and according to some authorities the shmitta (sabbatical) year. Hillel and Shammai disagreed on the date; the school of Hillel (as almost always) was victorious in setting it on the fifteenth of the month of Shvat, when the earth in the Holy Land begins to warm up, the water starts to flow through the ground and the sap to course through the trees, and early-blossoming trees like the Almond (shaked) burst into bloom.
After the destruction of the Temple, the tithe offerings ended and the Jews were dispersed: thus the agricultural laws of the Land of Israel did not apply in most Jewish communities. Tu B'Shvat became a time of celebration and commemoration, recollecting the days when the Jewish people lived on its own land, working to bring forth the fruit of that earth. Numerous customs evolved (such as the colorful “Hamishusar” in some Sephardic communities) and Jews recited blessings and ate fruits, if possible those grown in Israel.
Development of the Seder for Tu B'Shvat: In the 1500's in the Galilee city of Safed (also called S'fat or Tzfat), identified in the Talmud as one of the Holy Cities in the Land, the circle of Kabbalists who were followers of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the “Ari”) developed a special liturgy for Tu B'Shvat [as they were also inventing the kabbalat shabat service for Friday evenings and the all-night Tikun for Shavuot and Hoshana Rabba]: the Seder Leil Tu B'Shvat. The Kabbalists would stay up all night on Tu B'Shvat reciting their Seder, based loosely on the Passover Seder, which focused on fruits, trees, brachot, and kavvanot: invocations of attention and blessing on the fate of the trees and their fruit during the coming year, similar to the prayers for human life and welfare recited on Rosh Hashana.
The text of the Kabbalists' Seder included four cups of wine -- evolving in color from entirely white to red-with-a-drop-of-white; the tasting of 21 different fruits, beginning with the Seven Species which according to Deuteronomy 8:8 epitomize the produce of Land of Israel (wheat, barley, olives, dates, grapes, figs, and pomegranates), followed by fruits mentioned in the Bible, particularly in the Song of Songs (etrog, apple, walnut, almond), and the carob (long associated with Tu B'Shvat), pear (discussed in the Mishna), and other fruits and nuts. The order of the Seder was first published in the 1700's in the volume Pri Etz Hadar, attributed to Rabbi Haim Vital, which details the wines, the fruits, and the passages from Bible, Midrash, Mishna, Talmud, and especially Zohar -- since the Kabbalists found mystical meaning in each reading and tasting. Their Seder also provided for eating from three types of fruits corresponding to three of the four Lurianic “worlds”: wholly edible fruits such as figs for olam habriya (the world of creation), fruits edible on the outside but with pits, such as cherries, representing the world of yetzira (formation), and fruits with outside shells but edible insides such as pistachios, symbolizing the world of asiyah (action). [The fourth kabbalistic world, atzilut (emanation) is considered to be beyond physical representation].
In the last century the Jewish pioneers coming to Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine adopted Tu B'Shvat as an occasion for planting trees as part of the mass Jewish return to the Land and its rebuilding and renewal. The Tu B'Shvat Seder, a ritual which had been little remembered or practiced in most communities, has been revived and reinvented in recent decades. Today, Tu B'Shvat has become an occasion for directing our thoughts and energies to the natural world, to God's Creation and our assignment to “labor over and preserve” it [l'ovdah ul'shomrah - Genesis 2:15], and to the Land of Israel and its particular sanctity, importance, and fragility.
Create an Eco-Tu B'Shvat! Tu B'Shvat is an opportunity to dedicate a day to enjoying and recognizing the natural world, Israel, and our task of stewardship. Meals, lectures, nature hikes, children's activities, services, study groups: can address and direct our thinking to the Torah's teachings about our obligations to preserve our world for future generations, the delights and varieties of healthful foods which spring from the earth, and our ties to the historic Jewish homeland in Israel and its rivers and hillsides.
Every synagogue, campus Hillel, havurah, JCC, religious school, senior center, community, and family can invent and adapt its own expression of an Environmental Day on Tu B'Shvat-whether Seder, party, speaker, festive meal, text learning, games, songs, stories, or all-night gathering.
The state of Israel's environment today: The Land of Israel, central to the genesis of Tu B'Shvat, is not just the place where Jews and Judaism originated, or our future Messianic home: it is also a real country of soil and winds and a remarkable variety of different eco-systems. And that terrain is in terrible trouble. Israel's air, water, and land are contaminated by ever-increasing pollution. In most of its rivers, fish can only live for a few minutes. The air quality in Jerusalem is projected to become worse than that of Mexico City by 2010. The severe shortage of water supplies is rapidly worsening, as is the problem of garbage and solid waste. The number of automobiles increased one hundredfold in recent decades, while in a small country ideally suited to railways, the entire system of public transportation is inadequate and underfunded. Israel's toxic waste dumps are overflowing and improperly contained.
As part of an Environmental Tu B'Shvat, materials, speakers, and discussions on the many imminent threats to Israel's environment can be arranged and programmed into the day.
Tzedaka and the Tree of Life: Central to the purpose of celebrating Tu B'Shvat, and of conducting the Tu B'Shvat Seder, are the concepts of gratitude, b'rakhot, and tzedaka. We pray on the New Year of Trees that it should be a healthy, bountiful year for the trees which feed us (particularly those in the Land of Israel for whose produce the legal holiday was created), and the Kabbalists' Seder multiplies the opportunities for reciting blessings recognizing and thanking our Creator for the cornucopia of flavors and aromas which we 'taste and see'. Jewish tradition establishes as the most fitting response to our own good fortune and satisfactions the sharing of our joy with others who are in greater need. The Zohar calls the process of giving tzedaka 'Ilana d'Hayyey' - Tree of Life - for we magnify and certify our happiness and thankfulness by providing for fellow human beings and for needful causes. Our communal festivities can and should include provisions to inform everyone of places and ways to give or send donations which mark and spread our festivity.
Tu B'Shvat provides Jewish groups and communities with a perfect time to talk, study, celebrate, sing and deliberate together about the blessings for which we are grateful, the world we need to rescue, the Holy Land and its riches and dangers, and the harmony of nature.
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There is much valuable background material on Jewish teachings on environmental issues and Tu B'Shvat observances at the web site of COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) (www.coejl.org).
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3. RESOURCES ON TU B'SHVAT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES<
A. WEBSITES
Tu B'Shvat Seder Compiled by Yitzchak Buxbaum:
http://www.aish.com/tubshvat/tubshvatcustoms/Kabbalistic_Tu_Bshvat_Seder.asp
Adam Teva V'Din: The Israel Union for Environmental Defense
http://www.iued.org.il
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)
http://www.coejl.org/
Ministry of Environment (Israel)
http://www.environment.gov.il
http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/gov/environ.html.
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
www.teva.org.il/e
Richard Schwartz articles
http://jewishveg.com/schwartz
Shalom Center
http://www.shalomctr.org/
Sierra Club
http://www.sierraclub.org/
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
http://www.ucsusa.org/
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
http://www.epa.gov
Many Links to Tu B'Shvat can be found at
www.google.com
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B. BOOKS
Buxbaum, Yitzhak. A Person Is Like a Tree: A Sourcebook for Tu B'Shvat. Northvale, NJ; Jerusalem: Jason Aronson, 2000.
Schwartz, Richard H. Judaism and Global Survival. New York: Lantern Books, 2002. (A free copy of this book will be sent to very rabbi who contacts the author at rschw12345@aol.com and indicates that it will be used as background for a Tu B'Shvat or other environmental program.)
Waskow, Arthur, editor. Torah of the Earth: Exploring 4,000 Years of Ecology in Jewish Thought. Volumes 1 and 2. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000.
Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman, and Waskow, Arthur, editors. Trees, Earth, and Torah: A Tu B'Shvat Anthology. Philadelphia: Jewish Publishing Society, 1999.
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4. GROUPS WORKING TO IMPROVE ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENT
Israel's environmental movement includes a number of organizations which are fighting to save the ecology of Israel. They can inform you about current crises and activities, and will provide books, pamphlets, reports, and contacts. You may also choose, in connection with Tu B'Shvat programs, to raise or donate contributions to support their vital projects.
Neot Kedumim: The Biblical Nature Reserve: On any visit to Israel, a trip to Neot Kedumim is delightful: the site (not far from Ben Gurion airport) features the trees and plants of the Bible and Talmud, including special areas for the Seven Species, the flora of the Song of Songs, and the landscape of our slavery in Egypt. Neot Kedumim is also a center for research and publication on environmental issues and natural history in Jewish sources, including extensive materials about Tu B'Shvat. You can order such superb works as the books Nature In Our Biblical Heritage and Tree and Shrub in Our Biblical Heritage and the booklet Ecology in the Bible from American Friends of Neot Kedumim in Halcott Center, NY. Phone (845) 254-5031 or fax (845) 254-9836. Investigate the Nature Reserve or plan trips there at their website:
www.neot-kedumim.org.il
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (Hevra L'haganat HaTeva): reaches more Israelis than any other Non-Governmental Organization (and, proportionately, more citizens than any NGO in the world) through its programs in schools, hikes and trips, field study centers, and grass-roots group, the Eco-Activists (Shomrei HaSviva). Severe cutbacks in government spending because of the economic and security crises are threatening SPNI's important programs. To join, learn about eco-tourism in Israel, or become active in their efforts, visit their English-language website: http://www.teva.org.il/e
The Israel Union for Environmental Defense [IUED] (Adam Teva v'Din): is Israel's leading environmental advocacy group which fights pollution, unregulated industry, and unplanned development through litigation, legislation, and citizen organizing. To find out about ongoing endeavors on clean air, recycling, coastlines, toxic wastes, the absurd but actual artificial-islands plans, and many other areas, and to sign up for their monthly E-news updates, go to http://www.iued.org.il
Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership: The Center was named after Abraham Joshua Heschel. In the spirit of Rabbi Heschel's notion that the magnificence of Creation should imbue us with a “sense of wonder” and awe at God's grace and wisdom, the Heschel Center's website features numerous on-line articles and pamphlets on Judaism and environmental education, as well as studies conducted in cooperation with the Worldwatch Institute on the state of Israel's environment -- including the recent report on “Air Pollution and Public Health in Israel”. www.heschelcenter.org
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5. MORE RESOURCES FOR TU B'SHVAT
A Person Is Like a Tree: A Sourcebook for Tu Beshvat by Yitzhak Buxbaum (New York: Jason Aronson, 2000 ) is the best book available about the origins of the holiday and the Seder, including extensive discussion of the kabbalistic intentions and orientation of the Seder's S'fat-based creators. It can be ordered through the website of its publisher: www.aronson.com or by contacting the author at yitzhak@att.net. Also, see http://www.aish.com/tubshvat/tubshvatcustoms/Kabbalistic_Tu_Bshvat_Seder.asp
Trees, Earth, and Torah: A Tu B'Shvat Anthology, Edited by Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman, and Arthur Waskow (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1999) includes articles on ecology in Biblical and Talmudic Judaism, modern 'Eco-Judaism”, and understanding and celebrating Tu B'Shvat.
Tu Bi-shvat and Purim Melodies - An excellent book of the music and words to songs of the holiday, along with an accompanying cassette of the songs. Available at a terrific discount from the website of its publisher, Tara Publications: www.Jewishmusic.com
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6. SOME TEXTS ABOUT TU B'SHVAT THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE LAND OF ISRAEL
compiled by Jonathan Wolf
Tu B'Shvat: The first day of the month of Nissan is Rosh Hashana (the beginning of the year) concerning [counting the length of the reign of] kings and [the order of the] Festivals [since Passover, in Nissan, is counted as the first].
The first day of Elul is Rosh Hashana for the tithing of animals.
The first of Tishrei is Rosh Hashana for [marking the beginning of] years, for shmitta (sabbatical) and yovel (jubilee) years, and for plants and vegetables.
The first of Shvat is Rosh Hashana for trees. So says the house of Shammai; the house of Hillel says, the fifteenth of that month.
-Mishna Rosh Hashana 1:1
Any tree which puts forth its fruit before Tu B'shvat has its fruit counted in the past year; if afterward, then in the coming year
-Tosefta Shvi'it 4:20
Environmentalism in Torah: When you besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to conquer it, you shall not destroy [lo tash'hit] the trees thereof by wielding an ax against them. You may eat of them but you shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field a person, that it should be besieged by you? [Alternative translations: For a person is like a tree of the field, to come before you in the siege. Or: For a person (stays alive by) the tree of the field…]. Only the trees which you know that they are not trees for food, those you may destroy and cut down, in order to build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until it fall.
-Deuteronomy 20:19-20
The purpose of the mitzva [above, of bal tash'hit] is to teach us to love that which is good and worthwhile and to cling to it, so that good becomes a part of us and we avoid all that is evil and destructive. This is the way of the righteous and those who improve society, who love peace and rejoice in the good in people and bring them closer to Torah: that nothing, not even a grain of mustard, should be lost to the world, that they should regret any loss or destruction that they see, and if possible to prevent any destruction that they can. Not so are the wicked, who are like demons, who rejoice in the destruction of the world, and they thus destroy themselves.
-Sefer HaHinukh, mitzva #529
Laws of the Land: And when you come into the Land you shall plant every kind of fruit tree, and you shall consider its fruit orlah (uncircumcised) for three years; you shall not eat it. But in the fourth year all of its fruits shall be holy for a celebration to Adonai. And on the fifth year, eat its fruit to increase your harvest; I am Adonai your God.
-Leviticus 19: 23-25
You shall definitely tithe all the increase of your seeds which come forth from your fields, year by year. And you shall eat before Adonai your God in the place which He shall choose to rest His name the tithe of your grain and of your wine and of your oil and the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, in order that you may learn to revere Adonai your God all of your days.
-Deuteronomy 19:22-23
Bounty of the Land: The fruits of the Land of Israel are easier to eat than those of any other land.
-Sifrei, Ekev
In the future all the non-fruit-bearing trees in Eretz Yisrael will put forth fruits.
-Talmud, Ketubot 112b
Rav Chisda said: 'And I have given you a precious land, an inheritance like a deer (eretz tzvi) [Jeremiah 3:19]': Why is the Land of Israel compared to a deer? Just a deer's skin can barely contain its flesh, likewise is Eretz Yisrael unable to contain all its fruit.
-Talmud, Ketubot 112b
In the creation of the world, the Holy One began with the act of planting, as it says: 'And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden [Genesis 2:8].' So too when you enter the Land of Israel, you should engage yourselves first in planting [Leviticus 19:23, above].
-Midrash Vayikra Rabba 25
Jonathan Wolf, a leading figure in the revival of the Tu B'Shvat Seder, has conducted Seders at homes, synagogues, and campuses across North America since 1975. Thousands of copies of the Seder text he developed, based on the Kabbalists' original Pri Etz Hadar, are in circulation, and it has been widely borrowed from. He was chair and co-founder of L'OLAM, the NY-area Jewish environmental coalition of the 1980s and 1990s; directed and created the Community Action program at Lincoln Square Synagogue; was Social Policy Director of the Synagogue Council of America; and now directs the Institute for Jewish Activism. He can be contacted at jonawolf@aol.com.
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7. Tu B'Shvat and Vegetarianism by Richard Schwartz
by Richard Schwartz
Tu B'Shvat is arguably the most vegetarian of Jewish holidays, because of its many connections to vegetarian themes and concepts:
1) The Tu B'Shvat Seder in which fruits and nuts are eaten, along with the singing of songs and the recitation of Biblical verses related to trees and fruits, is the only sacred meal where only vegetarian, actually vegan, foods, are eaten as part of the ritual. This is consistent with the diet in the Garden of Eden, as indicated by God's first, completely vegetarian, dietary law:
And God said: "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has
seed-yielding fruit--to you it shall be for food." (Gen.1:29)
2) The Talmud refers to Tu B'Shvat as the New Year for Trees. It is considered to be the date on which the fate of trees is decided for the coming year. In recent years, one of the prime ways of celebrating Tu B'Shvat, especially in Israel, is through the planting of trees. Vegetarianism also reflects a concern for trees. One of the prime reasons for the destruction of tropical rain forests today is to create pasture land and areas to grow feed crops for cattle. To save an estimated 5 cents on each imported fast food hamburger, we are destroying forest areas in countries such as Brazil and Costa Rica, where at least half of the world's species of plants and animals live, and threatening the stability of the world's climate. It has been estimated that every vegetarian saves an acre of forest per year.
3) Both Tu B'Shvat and vegetarianism are connected to today's environmental concerns. Many contemporary Jews look on Tu B'Shvat as a Jewish earth day, and use Tu B'Shvat seders as occasions to discuss how Jewish values can be applied to reduce many of today's ecological threats. When God created the world, he was able to say, "It is very good" (Genesis 1:31). Everything was in harmony as God had planned, the waters were clean, the air was pure. However, what must God think about the world today? What must God think when the rain he sends to nourish our crops is often acid rain due to the many chemicals poured into the air by our industries? when the ozone layer that He provided to separate the heavens from the earth is being depleted at such a rapid rate? when the abundance of species of plants and animals that He created are becoming extinct in tropical rain forests and other threatened habitats, before we are even been able to catalog them? when the fertile soil that He provided is rapidly being depleted and eroded? when the climatic conditions that He designed to meet our needs are threatened by global warming? An ancient midrash has become all too relevant today:
In the hour when the Holy one, blessed be He, created the first
person, He showed him the trees in the Garden of Eden, and said to
him: "See My works, how fine they are; Now all that I have created,
I created for your benefit. Think upon this and do not corrupt and
destroy My world, For if you destroy it, there is no one to restore
it after you." Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:28
Today's environmental threats can be compared in many ways to the Biblical ten plagues, which are in the Torah portions in the weeks immediately preceding Tu B'Shvat: When we consider the threats to our land, water, and air, pesticides and other chemical pollutants, resource scarcities, threats to our climate, etc., we can easily enumerate ten modern "plagues". The Egyptians were subjected to one plague at a time, while the modern plagues are threatening us simultaneously. The Jews in Goshen were spared the Biblical plagues, while every person on earth is imperiled by the modern plagues. Instead of an ancient Pharoah's heart being hardened, our hearts today have been hardened by the greed, materialism, and waste that are at the root of current environmental threats. God provided the Biblical plagues to free the Israelites, while today we must apply God's teachings in order to save ourselves and our precious but endangered planet.
The Talmudic sages assert that people's role is to enhance the world as "co-partners of God in the work of creation" (Shabbat 10a). They indicated great concern about preserving the environment and preventing pollution. They state: "It is forbidden to live in a town which has no garden or greenery" (Kiddushin 4:12; 66d). Threshing floors had to be placed far enough from a town so that it would not be dirtied by chaff carried by winds (Baba Batra 2:8). Tanneries had to be kept at least 50 cubits from a town and could be placed only on the east side of a town, so that odors would not be carried by the prevailing winds from the west (Baba Batra 2:8,9). The rabbis express a sense of sanctity toward the environment: "the atmosphere (air) of the land of Israel makes one wise" (Baba Batra 158b). Again, vegetarianism is consistent with this important Jewish environmental concern, since modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes to many current environmental problems, including soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, the destruction of habitats, and potential global warming.
4) Both Tu B'Shvat and vegetarianism embody the important teaching that "The earth is the Lord's" (Psalm. 24:1) and that people are to be stewards of the earth, to see that its produce is available for all God's children. Property is a sacred trust given by God; it must be used to fulfill God's purposes. No person has absolute or exclusive control over his or her possessions. The concept that people have custodial care of the earth, as opposed to ownership, is illustrated by this ancient story:
Two men were fighting over a piece of land. Each claimed ownership and bolstered his claim with apparent proof. To resolve their differences, they agreed to put the case before the rabbi. The rabbi listened but could come to no decision because both seemed to be right. Finally he said, "Since I cannot decide to whom this land belongs, let us ask the land." He put his ear to the ground and, after a moment, straightened up. "Gentlemen, the land says it belongs to neither of you but that you belong to it."
With their concern about the preservation and expansion of forests and their focus on plant-based foods, both Tu B'Shvat and vegetarianism, reflect this important Jewish teaching.
5) Tu B'Shvat and vegetarianism both reflect the Torah mandate that we are not to waste or destroy unnecessarily anything of value. It is interesting that this prohibition, called bal tashchit ("thou shalt not destroy"), is based on concern for fruit-bearing trees, as indicated in the following Torah statement: When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shall not destroy (lo tashchit) the trees thereof by wielding an ax against them; for thou mayest eat of them but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee? Only the trees of which thou knoweth that they are not trees for food, them thou mayest destroy and cut down, that thou mayest build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it fall. (Deut. 20:19-20)
This prohibition against destroying fruit-bearing trees in time of warfare was extended by the Jewish sages. It it forbidden to cut down even a barren tree or to waste anything if no useful purpose is accomplished (Sefer Ha-Chinuch 530). The sages of the Talmud made a general prohibition against waste: "Whoever breaks vessels or tears garments, or destroys a building, or clogs up a fountain, or destroys food violates the prohibition of bal tashchit" (Kiddushin 32a). In summary, bal tashchit prohibits the destruction, complete or incomplete, direct or indirect, of all objects of potential benefit to people. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch states that bal tashchit is the first and most general call of God: We are to "regard things as God's property and use them with a sense of responsibility for wise human purposes. Destroy nothing! Waste nothing!" (Horeb; Chapter 56, #401) He indicates that destruction includes using more things (or things of greater value) than is necessary to obtain one's aim. (Horeb; Chapter 56, #399) The important Torah mandate of bal tashchit is consistent with vegetarianism, since, compared to plant-based diets, animal -centered diets require far more land, water, energy, and other agricultural resources.
6.) Tu B'Shvat reflects a concern about future generations. In ancient times it was a custom to plant a cedar sapling on the birth of a boy and a cypress sapling on the birth of a girl. The cedar symbolized strength and stature of a man, while the cypress signified the fragrance and gentleness of a woman. When the children were old enough, it was their task to care for the trees that were planted in their honor. It was hoped that branches from both types of trees would form part of the chupah (bridal canopy) when the children married. Another example of the Jewish concern for the future that is expressed through the planting of trees is in the following story: Choni (the rainmaker) was walking along a road when he saw an old man planting a carob tree. Choni asked him: "How many years will it take for this tree to yield fruit?" The man answered that it would take seventy years. Choni then asked: "Are you so healthy a man that you expect to live that length of time and eat of its fruit?" The man answered: "I found a fruitful world because my ancestors planned for me. So I will do the same for my children." Vegetarianism also reflects concern about the future since this diet puts a minimum of strain on the earth and its ecosystems and requires far less water, land, energy, and other scarce agricultural resources than animal-centered diets.
7) It is customary to recite Psalm 104, as well as other psalms, on Tu B'Shvat. Psalm 104 indicates how God's concern and care extends to all creatures, and illustrates that God created the entire earth as a unity, in ecological balance:...Thou [God] art the One Who sends forth springs into brooks, that they may run between mountains,To give drink to every beast of the fields; the creatures of the forest quench their thirst.Beside them dwell the fowl of the heavens;...Thou art He Who waters the mountains from His upper chambers;...Thou art He Who causes the grass to spring up for the cattle and herb, for the service of man, to bring forth bread from the earth....How manifold art Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy property....
Vegetarianism also reflects concern for animals and all of God's creation, since for many people it is a refusal to take part in a system that involves the cruel treatment and slaughter of 10 billion farm animals in the United States alone annually, and, as indicated above, that puts so much stress on the earth and its resources.
8) Both Tu B'Shvat and vegetarianism are becoming increasingly popular today; Tu B'Shvat because of an increasing interest in and concern about nature and environmental issues, and vegetarianism because of increasing concern about health, the treatment of animals, and also the environment and the proper use of natural resources.
9) On Tu B'Shvat , the sap begins to fill the trees and their lives are renewed for another year of blossom and fruit. A shift toward vegetarianism means, in a sense, that there is an increased feeling of concern for the earth and all its inhabitants, and there is a renewal of the world's people's concerns about more life-sustaining approaches.
In 1993, over 1,670 scientists, including 104 Nobel laureates - a majority of the living recipients of the prize in the sciences - signed a "World Scientists' Warning To Humanity." Their introduction stated: "Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about." The scientists' analysis discussed threats to the atmosphere, water resources, oceans, soil, living species, and forests. Their warning: "we the undersigned, senior members of the world's scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided.”
With the world's ecosystems threatened as never before, it is important that Jews increasingly discover the important ecological messages of Tu B'Shvat. Similarly, it is also urgent that Jews and others recognize that a shift toward vegetarianism, the diet most consistent with Tu B'Shvat, is not only an important individual choice today, but increasingly it is a Jewish imperative since the realities of modern intensive livestock agriculture and the consumption of animal products are inconsistent with many basic Jewish values, as well as a societal imperative, necessary for economic and ecological stability.
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8. WHY IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT? THOUGHTS ON TU B'SHVAT by Richard Schwartz
One of the highlights of the Passover seder is the recitation of the four questions which consider how the night of Passover differs from all the other nights of the year. Similar questions are appropriate for Tu B'Shvat, which starts on Monday evening, January 21, this year, because of the many ways that this holiday differs from Passover and all other days of the year.
While four cups of red wine (or grape juice) are drunk at the Passover seder, the four cups drunk at the Tu B'shavat seder vary in color from white to pink to ruby to red.
While Passover is a holiday of springtime, Tu B'Shvat considers the changing seasons from winter to autumn, as symbolized by the changing colors of the wine or grape juice, to remind us of God's promise of renewal and rebirth.
While Passover commemorates the redemption of the Israelites, Tu B'Shvat considers the redemption of humanity, as the kabbalists of Safed who inaugurated the Tu B'Shvat seder regarded the eating of the many fruits with appropriate blessings and kavannah (intentions) on Tu B'Shvat as a tikkun (repair) for the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
While other Jewish holidays honor or commemorate events and people, Tu B'Shvat honors trees, fruits, and other aspects of nature.
While people generally eat whatever fruits are in season, on Tu B'Shvat people try to eat fruits from Israel, especially fruits mentioned in the Torah.
While people generally take the environment for granted, on Tu B'Shvat there is an emphasis on the proper stewardship of the environment.
While people do not generally think about trees in the winter, there is much interest in trees on Tu B'Shvat, although the spring is still months away.
While people generally think of Israel as the land of the Bible, as the Jewish people's ancestral home, and as the modern Jewish homeland, on Tu B'Shvat people think of Israel in terms of its orchards, vineyards, and olive groves.
While people generally think of fruit as something to be purchased at a supermarket or produce store, on Tu B'Shvat people think of fruit as tokens of God's kindness.
While people generally try to approach God through prayer, meditation, and study, on Tu B'Shvat people try to reach God by eating fruit, reciting blessings with the proper feelings, and by considering the wonders of God's creation.
While many people eat all kinds of food including meat and dairy products during most Jewish holidays and on most other days, the Tu B'Shvat Seder in which fruits and nuts are eaten, along with the singing of songs and the recitation of Biblical verses related to trees and fruits, is the only sacred meal where only vegetarian, actually vegan, foods are eaten as part of the ritual.
While people generally look on the onset of a new year as a time to assess how they have been doing and to consider their hopes for the new year, Tu B'Shvat is the New Year for Trees, when the fate of trees is decided.
While most Jewish holidays have a fixed focus, Tu B'Shvat has changed over the years from a holiday that initially marked the division of the year for tithing purposes to one in which successively the eating of fruits, then the planting of trees in Israel, and most recently responses to modern environmental crises have became major parts of the holiday.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach once quipped that the most important Jewish holidays are the ones that are least celebrated. While there has been increasing interest in Tu B'Shvat recently, this holiday that is so rich in symbolism and important messages for today is still not considered to any great extent by most Jews. Let us hope that this will soon change and that an increased emphasis on Tu B'Shvat and its important lessons will help revitalize Judaism and help shift our precious, but imperiled, planet to a sustainable path.
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9. Preserving the sacred environment: A religious imperative by Richard Schwartz
Many contemporary Jews look upon Tu B'Shvat (February 8-9 this year) as a Jewish Earth Day, a day for contemplating our ecological heritage - and the multitude of threats the world currently faces.
An ancient midrash has become all too relevant today: "In the hour when the Holy one, blessed be He, created the first person, He showed him the trees in the Garden of Eden, and said to him: "See My works, how fine they are; Now all that I have created, I created for your benefit. Think upon this and do not corrupt and destroy My world, For if you destroy it, there is no one to restore it after you." [Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:28]
Today's environmental threats can be compared in many ways to the Biblical ten plagues, which appear in the Torah portions read on the Shabbats immediately preceding Tu B'Shvat. When we consider the threats to our land, water, and air, pesticides and other chemical pollutants, resource scarcities, threats to our climate, etc., we can easily enumerate ten modern "plagues." Unfortunately, like the ancient Pharaoh, our hearts have been hardened, by the greed, materialism, and wastefulness that are at the root of these threats. And, in contrast to the biblical plagues, modern plagues are all occurring simultaneously, and there is no modern Goshen as a refuge, where most of these plagues do not occur.
The sacred environment
The Talmudic sages express a sense of sanctity toward the environment: "The atmosphere (air) of the land of Israel makes one wise." [Baba Batra 158b] They assert that people's role is to enhance the world as "co-partners of God in the work of creation." [Shabbat 10a] The rabbis indicate great concern for preserving the environment and preventing pollution: "It is forbidden to live in a town which has no garden or greenery." [Kiddushin 4:12; 66d] Threshing floors are to be placed far enough from a town so that the town is not dirtied by chaff carried by winds. [Baba Batra 2:8] Tanneries are to be kept at least 50 cubits from a town and to be placed only on its eastern side, so that odors are not carried by the prevailing winds from the west. [Baba Batra 2:8,9]
"The Earth is the Lord's" [Psalms 24:1]
We are the stewards of God's Earth, responsible to see that its produce is available for all God's children. Property is a sacred trust given by God; it must be used to fulfill God's purposes.
The story is told of two men who were fighting over a piece of land. Each claimed ownership and bolstered his claim with apparent proof. To resolve their differences, they agreed to put the case before the rabbi. The rabbi listened but could come to no decision because both seemed to be right. Finally he said, "Since I cannot decide to whom this land belongs, let us ask the land." He put his ear to the ground and, after a moment, straightened up. "Gentlemen, the land says it belongs to neither of you but that you belong to it."
"Thou shall not destroy"
The prohibition not to waste or destroy unnecessarily anything of value (bal tashhit - "thou shalt not destroy") is based on concern for fruit-bearing trees, as indicated in the following Torah statement: "When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you under siege? Only trees that you know to not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siege works against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been destroyed." [Deuteronomy 20:19-20]
This prohibition against destroying fruit-bearing trees in time of warfare was extended by the Jewish sages. It is forbidden to cut down even a barren tree or to waste anything if no useful purpose is accomplished. [Sefer Ha-Chinuch 530] The sages of the Talmud made a general prohibition against waste: "Whoever breaks vessels or tears garments, or destroys a building, or clogs up a fountain, or destroys food violates the prohibition of bal tashchit" [Kiddushin 32a]
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, 19th century philosopher and author, states that bal tashhit is the first and most general call of God: We are to "regard things as God's property and use them with a sense of responsibility for wise human purposes. Destroy nothing! Waste nothing!" He indicates further that destruction includes using more things (or things of greater value) than are necessary to obtain one's aim. [Horeb; Chapter 56]
Ecological balance
It has become customary to recite Psalms on Tu-B'Shevat, among them Psalm 104. This Psalm speaks of God's concern and care extended to all creatures, and illustrates that God created the entire earth as a unity, in ecological balance: "You make springs gush forth in torrents; they make their way between the hills, giving drink to all the wild beasts; the wild asses slake their thirst. The birds of the sky dwell beside them and sing among the foliage. You water the mountains from Your lofts; the earth is sated from the fruit of Your work. You make the grass grow for the cattle, and herbage for man's labor, that he may get food out of the earth, wine that cheers the hearts of men, oil that makes the face shine, and bread that sustains man's life." [Psalm 104: 10 -15]
Tu B'Shvat is indeed an appropriate time to apply Judaism's powerful ethic of reverence for God's creation, nonwastefulness and nondestructiveness, to help move our precious, but imperiled, planet to a sustainable path.
Richard H. Schwartz, PhD, Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island, is author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, and Mathematics and Global Survival. He has over 100 articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz.
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10. Sample Letter to the Jewish Media re Turning Tu B'Shvat into a Jewish Earth Day
Dear editor,
Many contemporary Jews look on Tu B'Shvat (February 8-9 this year) as a Jewish 'Earth Day,' and use Tu B'Shvat seders as occasions to discuss how Jewish values can be applied to reduce many of today's environmental threats.
While Judaism teaches that “The Earth is the Lord's” (Psalms 24:1), and that we are to be partners with God in preserving the environment, there are daily news reports about global warming, water shortages, air and water pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, soil erosion and depletion, and other environmental threats. Tu B'Shvat is the New Year for Trees, the date on which the fate of trees is decided for the coming year. Hence, it is an ideal time to consider the rapid destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats. While Israel has made remarkable progress in many areas, it faces chronic droughts, very badly polluted rivers, severe air pollution in its major cities and industrial areas, rapidly declining open space, congested roads, and an inadequate mass transit system.
In view of the above and much more, I urge Jews to use Tu B'Shvat and activities related to this increasingly important holiday, as occasions to start to make tikkun olam, the repair and healing of the planet, a central focus in Jewish life today. Tu B'Shvat can be a great opportunity for education about environmental crises locally, nationally, and internationally, with perhaps a special emphasis in some congregations on environmental problems in Israel. It also could help energize our congregations and bring many Jews back to Jewish involvement.
Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
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11. Sample Flyer for a Tu B'Shvat Seder
JOIN US AT OUR ANNUAL TU B'SHVAT SEDER!
SUNDAY February 8, 2009 7:30PM
JOIN IN CONTINUING AND EXPANDING UPON THE RICH AND BEAUTIFUL TRADITIONS OF THE KABBALISTS OF SAFED
THERE WILL BE READINGS, SONGS, BRIEF TALKS AND EXPLANATIONS, EATING OF A WIDE VARIETY OF FRUITS, AND DRINKING OF FOUR CUPS OF GRAPE JUICE
TO HELP US REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE:
THE LAND AND ITS ABUNDANT PRODUCE;
THE ENVIRONMENT WHICH SHELTERS AND SATISFIES US;
OUR CREATOR, THE SOURCE OF ALL OUR BLESSINGS
Learn the answers to the following four questions designed to help us understand the significance of this day, and much more.
Why is this day different from all other days?
1. Our other holidays honor events and people. Why does this holiday honor trees?
2. Ordinarily, we eat whatever fruit is in season. Why, today, do we specifically eat fruit that is grown in Israel?
3. We usually take the environment for granted. Why, today, do we focus on conservation?
4. It's winter. Why are we thinking about planting when spring is several months away?
There will also be a lot of nuts present, so it will be a fun time! So, come and enjoy!
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12. Sample Announcement for a Tu B'Shvat Seder
There will be a Tu B'Shvat seder in the multipurpose room on Sunday evening, February 8, 2009, the 15th of Shvat, at 7:30 PM. Please come to celebrate the New Year for Trees with family and friends, share a fun, meaningful event that connects the Jewish new year for trees to your life and to the environment, learn many new things, have an interesting experience, connect an ancient tradition to our contemporary world, and eat lots of fruit and nuts. For further information, please contact Richard Schwartz.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island
Author of "Judaism and Vegetarianism," "Judaism and Global Survival," and "Mathematics and Global Survival," and over 130 articles at www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz
President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) www.www.JewishVeg.com
and Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV)
Associate Producer of A SACRED DUTY (www.ASacredDuty.com)
president@JewishVeg.com
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Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue. Also, material re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsement by JVNA or endorsement of the kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observances, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in. Also, JVNA does not necessarily agree with all positions of groups whose views are included or whose events are announced in this newsletter.
Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue. Also, material re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsement by JVNA or endorsement of the kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observances, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in. Also, JVNA does not necessarily agree with all positions of groups whose views are included or whose events are announced in this newsletter.
FAIR USE NOTICE
The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. It may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of vegetarian, environmental, nutritional, health, economic, social justice and human rights issues etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for educational or research purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The information on this site does not constitute legal, technical or medical advice.
The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. It may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of vegetarian, environmental, nutritional, health, economic, social justice and human rights issues etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for educational or research purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The information on this site does not constitute legal, technical or medical advice.