Please note the altered information for Shabbat worship this weekend: Friday's Tu B'Shevat seder & dinner begins at 6 p.m. and is in-person only. Prayers for healing and the Kaddish will be read, but there will not be a traditional Shabbat service.
Saturday morning's 9 a.m. Torah study will be online only. More infomation below.
Tu B'shevat, celebrated on the fifteenth of the Hebrew month of Shevat, was determined by the rabbis of the Talmud as a "birthday for the trees" for the purposes of harvest and tithing. The rabbis decided that since most of the nourishing Winter rains had already fallen, Tu B'shevat would mark the end of the agricultural year. While this makes sense in the land of Israel, here in New England, it seems odd to be celebrating trees when they have no leaves (let alone in this weekend’s freezing temperatures). Despite the cold we hope you will join us at 6 pm in the Silverstein Meeting Hall for a Tu B’shevat Seder and Shabbat Dinner.
Our tradition also teaches that Tu B'shevat is a botanical metaphor for faith in the vitality of the future. The blossoms that appear around Tu B'shevat will eventually turn into almonds and pomegranates. In the same way that there is no more welcome sight than the green tips of a tulip or daffodil surfacing in the frozen ground after weathering the dark, cold winter months, our ancestors celebrated the produce to come. The rabbis also knew that planting itself is an act of faith. We never know if the seeds we plant will bear fruit. We don’t have assurance that the rains will fall as planned. Yet we plant them anyway.
This Shabbat, we let the wisdom of the rabbis guide us. We pray that the seeds of kindness and compassion sown today bring an abundance of blessings in a bright future.
6 p.m. Tu B'Shevat Seder & Shabbat Service Seder is in-person only Please register here.
We are collecting new underwear and hygiene products for those in need. Please bring your donations with you to Shabbat tonight or during the week to the office!
