Tu B’Shevat Seder

Tu B’Shevat is known as the New Year of the Trees or the Trees’ Birthday.  It is the beginning of spring in Israel with the first almond blossoms opening. It is traditional to eat fruits from Israel called the 7 species: figs, dates, grapes, olives, pomegranates, wheat and also to eat new fruits and to say the Shehechiyanu (a prayer for experiencing something new).

The Tu B’Shevat seder is a celebration of our relationship with nature and with fruit trees in particular, and a time for reflection. The Seder is divided into four sections.  Each section reflects eating specific fruits, and a cups of wine symbolizing the seasons, and different aspects of the trees and our own lives.

Cup 1-White wine (winter)

Fruits and nuts with a hard outside and an edible inside

These fruits and nuts which seem inedible from the outside, when peeled or shelled, are very different than their outward appearance. Because of their hard exterior, these foods can represent the human tendency to judge others by their outer appearance. They can also represent the ways we separate ourselves from other people.

Eating these fruits reminds us that whoever we are, we all carry a spark within.

Ask yourself - When have you “judged a book by its cover” only to realize that you were mistaken?

Eat: Walnuts | Almonds | Pomegranates | Coconuts | Pistachios

Cup  2 - Add a few drops of red wine and fill the rest with white

Fruits with pits at their center

Although we discard the pits of these fruits, they are the seeds, the means to rebirth. It reminds us of the spiritual and emotional strength that is within each of us. They can symbolize the potential within us that we have not tapped.

Ask yourself - What is something you have done or created that started out very small and became bigger or more important over time?

Eat: Cherries | Olives | Plums | Apricots | Avocado

Third Cup - Refill the glass so that there is now half red and half white wine

Fruits that are entirely edible

As we drink our third cup of wine, we are reminded that even though the trees will be full and green and their flowers will blossom, their growth is not complete. So much more will be created – there is so much more is to come.

These fruits can remind us of the wholeness of the world, where nothing is wasted and everything nourishes everything else. We can take this time to look at the fruit of our own actions and consider how to deepen our relationships in the world and with the earth.

Ask yourself - When do you feel truly whole and happy?

Eat: Grapes | Raisins | Blueberries | Raspberries

Fourth Cup - Pour a nearly full glass of red wine and add just a few drops of white

This final section represents what is invisible to the eye. Instead of eating fruit, enjoy sweet smells like cinnamon and rosemary. Beyond the cycle of eating is the cycle of breathing, when something lives both within and without us at the same time, when it is so much a part of us that we cannot even see it. Things are already part of each other. We all have this kind of connection with all of our senses. 

Ask yourself - What helps you remember and appreciate what you cannot see?

Smell: Cinnamon | Rosemary | Bay Leaf | Cedar

Each year is a time of renewal for the trees and for us; and to nurture the world that nurtures us.

At the center of all fruit are seeds from which they grow.  We listen to our hearts which are at our core.  We can relate to all the symbols mentioned for TuB’shevat as we continue to grow as people, friends, colleagues and employees. This is a perfect time to reflect on who we are, where we are going and how we can improve on all that we are and do.

> Click here to download a pdf version