Tu B'Shevat Seder Haggadah

WHEN DOES CHANGE HAPPEN?

The tree goes through cycles in its life. The heavy-laden tree of summer empties itself of fruit in the autumn, and then slowly loses its leaves, one by one. By winter time, the tree stands shorn of its previous glory. For all purposes, it appears to have died.

But then comes Tu B'Shevat! In the midst of the cold winter days, when all vegetation seems frozen or dead, the sap of the tree starts to flow beneath the surface bark. Rising slowly from roots buried in the hardened soil, the sap pushes its way up, pumping new life into outstretched branches that reach towards the heavens.

In life, we too often go through cycles of growth. Periods of renewal and growth may alternate with times of stagnation or dormancy. Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe cites that this cycle is part of man's nature. He adds that a person must not become disillusioned when spiritual growth seems halted; the "low" period will usually be followed by a "high" period that will yield new opportunities for growth.

That is the message of Tu B'Shevat: Even when we feel lethargic, in a rut, and seem to have lost the drive to achieve, we must not despair. Just as winter is an annual hiatus in the life cycle of trees, so bouts of lethargy and unproductivity are necessary phases in the human cycle. Just as with the coming of spring, life-giving sap moves imperceptibly through the trees to branches stretching to the sky, so we too will have renewed energy from deep within our spiritual reservoirs, so long as we set our goal heavenward. (- Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum)

The three coals of Shvat:

Hai Gaon, a 9th cent. sage, relates the following tradition about Shvat: In the month of Shvat, God throws down three burning coals to warm the earth. On the seventh of Shevat the first coal falls, to warm the air. On the fourteenth of the month the second falls, to warm the water in the trees. On that day the Arabs say: Today water has entered the trees. On the twenty-third of Shevat, the third coal is thrown, to warm the soil.

In Hebrew, the word for sap is saraf, which means fire. Shevat is a time of warming the world, and Tu B’Shevat is a day to welcome and honor the sap—the water in the trees that allows life to return. Tu B’Shevat represents the rising life force as the year moves toward spring—this day is a celebration of the inner fire that waits to burst into air. —Rabbi Jill Hammer

A prayer from the original Tu Bish’vat haggadah, Pri Etz Hadar:

O God, who makes, forms, creates, and emanates the highest worlds! You made the trees and grasses grow from the ground in the shape and pattern of these highest worlds. And this full moon is the beginning of Your work to renew and ripen the fruit trees, to bring forth the fruit of ‘the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden.’ May it be Your will that our eating and blessing and meditating on these fruits will strengthen the flow of love and blessing over the trees, to make them grow and bloom, for good life, for blessing and for peace. May all Creation return to its original strength and may we see the rainbow rejoicing in its colors. And may all the sparks of divine energy, whether scattered by our hands, or by the hands of our ancestors, or by the sin of the first human against the fruit of the tree, be returned and included in the majestic might of the Tree of Life.

עולם העשייה Olam Ha’Asiyah — The World of Action

We live in the world of assiyah, action and physicality. This is the tangible world of flesh, stone, wood. Here the spark of the Divine is hidden by the shell of appearance. We live in the world of assiyah. This is the world of tangible physicality. Each of the Four Worlds is associated with a season and an element; this world is associated with Winter and with earth. In winter the ground is frozen, but we know it contains the life of the spirit below. The white wine or juice we drink symbolizes winter’s pale light and white snow.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of all being, creator of the fruit of the vine.

In winter we layer ourselves in clothing, blanketing ourselves from the cold just as the earth is insulated by snow. The fruit we eat for the world of assiyah likewise has a protective outside and soft interior. Removing the hard shells of pomegranates, walnuts, almonds, coconuts, or pecans exposes a vulnerable inside.

The shell which conceals these fruits also protects. We know what that feels like. In the world of school, work, and everyday activity, our spiritual selves require protection and nurturing. Sometimes we wrap ourselves in a tough outer shell, to protect our feelings and our hearts. As we eat these fruits representing assiyah, may we find healing in our physical lives: in our relationships with our bodies, in our strength, in all matters physical and practical, in our environment.

We recite together the blessing for the fruits of assiyah:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri ha’etz.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of all being, creator of the fruit of the tree.

Text by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

A teaching from another tradition:

Have a look at these great blessed trees, who live only for the welfare of others, themselves facing the severity of stormy winds, heavy showers, heat and snow, all the while protecting us from them. The birth of trees is the most blessed in the world, as they contribute unreservedly to the well-being of all creatures. Just as no needy person ever returns disappointed from the house of a benevolent individual, similarly do these trees do for those who approach them for shelter. All of their many parts - leaves, flowers, fruits, shadow, roots, bark, wood and fragrance, are useful to others… A tree does not withdraw its cooling shade even from the one who has come to cut it. —Bhagavata Purana 10.22.32-35

עולם היצירה Olam HaYetzirah — The World of Formation

We live in the world of yetzirah: change, emotion, transformation. In this world we turn clay into bricks, iron into plows, words into poetry. In this sphere we celebrate creative power: both ours, and God's. The world of yetzirah is the world of emotions and heart. In this realm we celebrate change and creativity, flux and flow. This world is associated with the season of Spring and the element of water. To symbolize this world, we drink white wine or juice with a dash of red. This gradual deepening of color parallels the reawakening of colors in nature as the sun brings the earth back to life. In spring the sun’s rays begin to thaw the frozen earth and the first flowers appear on the hillsides. As we drink the second cup of wine or juice, white with a dash of red, may we, like the flowers, blossom into our full potential.

We add a bit of red wine or juice to the white and recite together:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of all being, creator of the fruit of the vine.

The world of yetzirah is connected with springtime. We eat fruits without protective shells — olives, dates, apricots, peaches and plums — to symbolize how, in spring, we will forget our protective attire and expose our soft bodies to the sun. Still, these fruits contain pits, reminding us that we may still have hardness around our hearts. Despite the wondrous expressions of our spirit, each of us is still tied to the hard stone of ego. We still feel the need to protect what makes us vulnerable.

As we eat the fruit of yetzirah, may our hearts be open to the feelings and needs of ourselves and others, allowing the warmth of our care to extend to the whole the world. May we find healing in the realm of emotions; may we find healing in our hearts.

We recite together the blessing for the fruits of yetzirah:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri ha’etz.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of all being, creator of the fruit of the tree.

Text by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

"A man should work forever, doing full and honest labor in order to rise step by step in the service of HaShem. But do not look back every few minutes to see if you are progressing. For man is like a tree. And do you look at a tree continually to see how it is growing? If you did, you would see nothing and become tired of looking, unless you prune it and protect it, trim and fertilize and water it to protect it from damage and danger and strong winds. Then the tree will grow and prosper and become beautiful. So must man rid himself of all those things which spoil him, and tend all the qualities which aid him in the service of HaShem so that he will grow and prosper. It is, however, not a virtue to measure from hour to hour how much he has grown."---Rabbi Uri of Strelisk (1757–1826)

עולם הבריאה Olam HaBriyah — The World of Creation

We live in the world of Briyah: air, thought, contemplation. We recall the words of Genesis: “Adonai formed a human from the dust of the Earth, and blew into its nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being…placed in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate and protect it.” The world of briyah is the ethereal realm of thought; it is associated with the season of Summer and the element of air. One name for God is “The Breath of Life.” We breathe out what the trees breathe in; God breathes in us and through us. Briyah is the world of the holy breath of creation. In the world of briyah, we drink red wine or juice with a dash of white, reminding us that as the land becomes warmer and the colors of the fruits deepen as they ripen, we too become warmer and more open.

We add a bit of white wine or juice to the red and recite together:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of all being, creator of the fruit of the vine.

We eat soft fruits to remind ourselves to relinquish both our shells and the stones we carry inside us. In our deepest relationships, may we be like the fruit of briyah, with no inner shell and no outer façade.

As we eat the fruits representing briyah, may we find healing in our intellectual lives: in our minds, in our thoughts, in the heat of passionate argument and the light of brilliant insight.

We recite together the blessing for the fruits of briyah:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָעֵץ.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri ha’etz.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of all being, creator of the fruit of the tree.

Text by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

A Prayer of Reb Nachman of Bratzlav:

Master of the Universe, grant me the ability to be alone; may it be my custom to go outdoors each day among the trees and grass — among all growing things and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer, to talk with the One to whom I belong. May I express there everything in my heart, and may all the foliage of the field — all grasses, trees, and plants — awake at my coming, to send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer so that my prayer and speech are made whole through the life and spirit of all growing things, which are made as one by their transcendent Source. May I then pour out the words of my heart before your Presence like water, O Lord, and lift up my hands to You in worship, on my behalf, and that of my children! May it be Your will, O God of our ancestors, that through our eating of the fruits You have created, the trees be filled with the glory of their ability to renew themselves for new blossoming, from the start of the year to its end, so that our lives too will be renewed and filled with goodness, blessings, and peace.

Adamah v'shamayim (Earth and Heavens)

Adama Veshamayim,

Chom Ha'esh, Tzlil hamayim

Ani margish zot begufi, beruchi, benishmati.

Heya, heya, heya, heya heya, heya, heya, ho (2x)

Heya heya, heya heya, heya, heya, heya, ho.

Love the earth, love the sky

Heat of fire, Drop of water

I can feel it in my body

In my spirit, and in my soul

Heya, heya, heya, heya heya, heya, heya, ho (2x)

I can feel it in my body

In my spirit, and in my soul

(Original chant by Tony Wrench; adapted at the Rainbow Gathering; translated into Hebrew by Shimon Lev Tahor.)

עולם האצילות Olam Ha’atzilut — The World of Essence

We live in the world of atzilut, essence, divine emanation. Physics tells us that what seems solid is actually filled with impossibly small spaces. Atzilut affirms this knowing: what seems like creation is actually just God. The world of atzilut is the world of essence and spirit. This world is associated with the season of Fall and the element of fire. This is the world of that which is intangible. To represent atzilut, we drink deep red wine or juice. The pure red liquid represents the full bloom of nature before the cold winter. As nature expends its last bit of energy in an explosion of colorful leaves, a full cycle is completed. As we drink the fourth cup of pure red wine or juice, may we become strong, like healthy trees, with solid roots in the ground and with our arms open to the love that surrounds us.

We take up a cup of red wine or juice and recite together:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of all being, creator of the fruit of the vine.

In the world of atzilut we eat no fruit, for this world cannot be represented by any fruit. In this spiritual world, we become aware of God’s love, mercy, and wisdom perceived with our hearts, not our senses. Our hearts are full and we praise the Source that renews all creation. The Four Worlds (Action, Emotion, Thought, and Spirit) are each nested inside each of the others. We live in all four realms at once. Sometimes we have hard shells, like the nuts of assiyah. Sometimes we have a rock inside us, like the stone fruits of yetzirah. Sometimes we are soft all the way through, like the fruits of briyah. And sometimes we are so connected with the Holy One of Blessing that we melt beyond our bodies altogether, living in atzilut. May we find blessing in each of these four ways of being, each of these four seasons, each of these four worlds.

Text by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

Every part of the vegetable world is singing a song and bringing forth a secret of the divine mystery of the creation. —Rav Kook

[A midrashic reading of Malachi for our generation:]
“Your planet is heating like a furnace. Already droughts scorch your continents, already your waters boil into typhoons and hurricanes, already the ice melts and your sea-coasts flood. Yet even now you can turn away from the fires of coal and oil, turn to the solar energy and the winged wind that rise from a sun of justice and tranquility to heal your planet. For God’s sake, you must all take on the mantle of Elijah! Turn your own hearts to the lives of your children and the children of your children, turn their hearts to learning from the deepest teachings of the Wisdom you inherited – that together you can yet avert the utter destruction of My earth.”

(Rabbi Arthur Waskow, “A Sun of Justice with Healing in its Wings”)