Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on January 28, 2015

Photos by Sarah Newman, courtesy of Neesh Noosh

Sarah Newman writes the blog Neesh Noosh: A Jewish Womans Year Long Journey to Find Faith in Food

Tu BShevat, which translates literally as the 15th day of the month of Shevat, is the Jewish New Year for Trees. Mentioned in the Talmud, the holiday marks the tithing of fruits grown in Israel.

In the 16th century, Jewish mystic Rabbi Isaac Luria and his disciples developed a seder for the holiday that focused on the symbolism of the fruits and trees of Israel. Like the Passover seder, the Tu BShevat one includes four cups of wine, each representing a different sphere in kabbalah. The first glass of wine is all white; the fruit is inedible on the outside and edible inside. The second glass of wine is equal parts white and red wine; the fruit is edible outside and inedible inside. The third glass wine is mostly red and some white; the fruit is completely edible. The last glass of wine is all red; the fruit is spiritual sustenance.

The celebration of this holiday has experienced resurgence recently, celebrated as a Jewish Earth Day.

The fruits and nuts we enjoy at Tu BShevat offer an opportunity to reflect on our interconnectedness to the land, water and people who grow them. Creation provides physical and spiritual sustenance to nourish our bodies, souls and communities. As the director of the Heschel Center for Sustainability in Israel, Jeremy Benstein has written, The natural world is the ground of our spiritual lives, source of symbolism and meaning.

When we eat foods that are produced in unhealthy ways, we are ingesting ingredients that limit our ability to embody Jewish values and manifest the potential of Torah. By looking at three different types of fruits (hard outer shell, inedible inside, completely edible), we can learn a lot about our food sources. Living in drought-ridden California the primary grower of the nations fruits and vegetables, with $46.4 billion in profits in 2013 according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service should make us more aware of our role in this interconnected web of life.

HARD OUTER SHELL: ALMONDS

Every time we eat food, we can consider how much water is required to produce it. Whether its a head of broccoli (more than five gallons of water), a pound of beef (1,847 gallons of water) or a pound of oranges (67 gallons of water), there are consequences to our states limited water supply.

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New Year for trees: Savor fruits of the earth, consider their journey

Category: Talmud
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