From the Rabbi

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

So begins a beautiful text attributed to Reb Nahman of Breslav, and although it’s hard to imagine encountering trees and grass outdoors at this very moment, we are coming up to Tu B’Shvat on the Jewish calendar, the New Year of the trees. Just as Reconstructionist rabbis and lay leaders innovate rituals in our time, the mystics of Sefad did so as well in the Middle Ages, taking an almost-forgotten date for calculating the tithe for trees and infusing it with meaning through a seder-like ritual. Whether this is your first opportunity to observe the date, or you have childhood memories of eating bokser (carob) and planting trees (metaphorically, that is!) bring your ideas, songs, and interest in the environment, greening, food, ecology and the natural world and we sing and munch our way through a fun Tu B’Shvat seder.