V'haya Im Shamo-a: A Prayer for Tu B'shvat?

Tu B’Shevat “on one foot”:

Tu B’Shevat is the new year for the trees. It is around January usually, when the first trees are blossoming in the Land of Israel. For more on this holiday, see: https://www.jewfaq.org/holiday8.htm

“V’Haya Im Shamo’a” “on one foot”:

”V’Haya Im Shamo’a” is the second paragraph of the Shema prayer. It comes from Deuteronomy. For more on this prayer, see: https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/torah-commentary/if-then-you-really-listen-and-heed-my-commandments

Why is the holiday called Tu B’Shevat?

Context: Pirkei Avot is a collection of quotes from the rabbis of the Mishnah. They lived from the years 300 BCE to 200 CE, and their sayings form a tractate of the Talmud. It’s one of the few tractates of the Mishnah which has no Gemara commenting on it, and it’s the only tractate of the Talmud which is about ethical / moral ways of living but not about Jewish law. Pirkei Avot is traditionally studied after Shabbat Mincha in the summer months (Passover to Shavuot), so it’s printed in its entirety at that spot in most siddurim.

Note that Tu B’Shevat happens in the Hebrew month of Shevat.

Gematria is an alpha-numeric code. The word itself is Greek gematria (gamma - tri - a > gamma = 3). Aleph = 1, bet = 2, gimmel = 3, kaf = 20, kuf = 100, resh = 200.

How would you say 10 in gematria?

How would you say 11 in gematria?

How would you say 14 in gematria?

How would you say 15 in gematria?

Joke: Why is Tu B’Shevat called Tu B’Shevat? Because of gema-tree-a!

How Has Tu B'Shevat Evolved?

Tu B’Shevat around 500 CE

Context: This text comes from the Biblical Book of Leviticus, from Chapter 19. Chapter 19 is considered "The Holiness Code", giving instructions for acting in holy ways.

How would you know which year a given tree is in?

Context: This is from the Mishnah, Tractate Rosh Hashanah, which is about Rosh Hashanah (as one might expect). It seems to suggest that the 15th of Shevat is for determining the age of trees so you know when you can start eating the fruit. However, little known fact is that that’s actually what Rosh Hashanah is for (Rosh Hashanah 9b). The new year for the trees is so that you can figure out when to set aside a new year’s tithe for the priests (Rosh Hashanah 14a). This detail is buried in the Gemara, so you are unlikely to run into it unless you have gone into the Gemara to get the explanation.

Tithing involved setting aside some of your food, both to thank G-d and to provide for people who couldn’t get their own food (the priests had no land). What would be a modern equivalent?

Tu B’Shevat in the 1500s

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Deuteronomy, from a chapter about ethical ways of dealing with war. It is the origin of the Jewish value of Ba’al Tashchit — not destroying needlessly. In the 1500s, the mystical Kabbalists used a phrase from this verse “is a tree of the field a man” and decided that they could use trees as a way to connect with G-d. They realized that there are four combinations of produce with edible or inedible insides and outsides (think orange vs. plum vs. blueberry vs. wheat grain), and, seeing that as a mystical metaphor, built a Tu B'Shevat seder around it. The Tu B'Shevat seder also tends to include the Seven Species (Deut. 8:8), and 4 cups with varying combinations of red and white wine, symbolizing the seasons (going from all white as winter to all red as fall).

How could trees and/or fruit help you connect with G-d?

Tu B'Shevat in the late 1800s to early 1900s

Context: This is the same verse that we saw earlier from Leviticus. When the chalutzim, pioneers, came back to the Land of Israel in the late 1880s and early 1900s, they took this verse and made Tu B'Shevat a tree-planting holiday. The Jewish National Fund "Blue Box" became ubiquitous as a way for ordinary Jews around the world to collect coins for buying land and planting trees. You can still buy trees in Israel for as little as $18 (https://usa.jnf.org/jnf-tree-planting-center/).

Although it's too cold in North America for tree planting during Tu B'Shevat, what's something you could do in this spirit?

Tu B'Shevat Since the 1970s

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Genesis, from the second version of Creation (Chapter 2). In this version, G-d creates Adam, makes the Garden of Eden, and then puts Adam into the garden. In the 1970s there was a secular and Jewish interest in taking care of the environment, and this verse became the cornerstone of reinterpreting Tu B'Shevat as a Jewish holiday about taking care of the earth.

What are some practical ways that you can make a difference in the well-being of our planet?

Introduction to V'haya Im Shamo-a

”V’haya Im Shamo-a” is the second paragraph of the Shema. It comes from Deuteronomy 11:13-21. Please consider whether this prayer relates to the themes of Tu B’Shevat, and if so, which iteration(s) of the holiday.

What does it look like to love G-d? What does it look like to serve G-d, particularly with all your heart and soul?

If you were doing a modern reward for following G-d’s commandments, what would you suggest?

This is the source of the halacha (Jewish law) that one must feed one’s pets (and farm animals) before yourself (Brachot 40a). Why does that come from this verse, and why is this rule a good idea (if it is)?

What aspects of modern life might people treat almost like gods?

One of G-d's commandments is taking care of the earth (Gen. 2:15, Deut. 20:19). Is it reasonable to read this verse as referring to acid rain, climate change, and soil erosion, among other possibilities?

In the V'Ahvata, 5 chapters earlier (Deut. 6:5-9), it refers to these same things but in a different order (there - teach, Tefillin, Mezuzah; here - Tefillin, teach, Mezuzah). Some interpret that as meaning that everybody has their own Jewish journey. What has yours been?

Why is "enduring on the land" the summative reward for following G-d's commandments?

Appendix A: Tu B’Shevat Customs

(From Reudor’s The Hebrew Months Tell Their Story)

1. The Shabbat of Tu B’Shevat is called “Shabbat Shira”. While this is because it is when we chant “Shirat HaYam”, the Song of the Sea, it is customary to leave food for birds on that day in appreciation of their songs from the trees.

2. In ancient Israel a cedar tree would be planted when a boy was born and a cypress tree would be planted when a girl was born. When they grew up and got married, the chuppah (wedding canopy) would be made from the branches of their trees.

3. Some Kabbalists would try to include 15 types of fruit and nuts in their Tu B’Shevat Seder.

4. In Eastern European schools, kids would bring figs, raisins, dates, and carobs, celebrating the fruit of trees common to ancient Israel.

5. In Kurdistan, sweet fruits were put around trees, and prayers were said for an abundant fruit season and many children.

6. In the 1500s in Sephardic communities, “Ma’ot Perot” (money for fruit) was collected to provide fruit for the poor.

7. In 1949, the “Forest of the Martyrs” was established with 6 million trees in memory of the Jews who died in the Holocaust. Tu B’Shevat is when most trees get planted in Israel.

Appendix B: Environmental Takes on This Prayer

From Barbara Barnett’s sheet “Second paragraph of the Sh'ma--An Environmental Take”

With appreciation to Nelly Altenburger and Barbara Barnett