What is this little known holiday all about?
I know we eat fruit and stuff. It's the New Year for the trees (whatever that means!). Are we just ritualistic people stuck in the past doing things that we have no idea why we are doing?
That is what so many people think about Judaism. A bunch of random rules with zero meaning behind them. Little do people realize how Judaism is one of the most ancient wisdoms in the history of the world, having had such a profound impact on virtually all cultures, religions, and peoples.
So what is this strange festival of trees? Are Jews just really undercover tree-hugging hippies? What is its mystical undertone? And how is it relevant to me?
By way of introduction, everything in the Jewish tradition that we "do" is meant to be an external manifestation of something deeper, of what we "are". And that in itself is more profound than it may seem on the surface. It is not mere symbolism. Rather, it is a way of bringing that which we know to be true in the realm of the mind, consciousness, and thought, down to the very physical fabric of material reality, into our body and beyond. We are "infusing" ourselves with wisdom, depth, meaning, and connection.
Tu B'Shvat is a new year for the trees. So the question would be, why celebrate now? Surely the real "goal" of the tree is to produce fruit. Why don't we celebrate in the spring or summer when the fruit begin to blossom? What are we celebrating in the depth of winter? What growth is happening now?
Part of the mystical undercurrent of this festival is in the answer to this very question. Tu B'Shvat is the day when most of the winter rains will have passed, and the sap of the new growth has begun to flow. That hidden force of energy lying dormant within the tree, awakens from its slumber to begin the process of growth, which will eventually bear fruit.
In an age where all we care about is the product. The quick fix. The new technological "fruit" on the market. We sometimes fail to recognize the process of development that took place beforehand. Tu B'Shvat teaches us, that even in the depths of darkness, when all the leaves have fallen from their trees, when the night overpowers the day, when all seems dead and unconnected; there is a seed sprouting beneath the ground, sap flowing within the trees, and hope murmurs with a soft whisper that a better time will come. And maybe, just maybe, there is a new, better, more confident, more beautiful, more kind and caring and loving "me", growing within my very self.
When we celebrate this day by eating fruit, saying blessings, and showing gratitude for what we have in front of us, we are "infusing" ourselves with this teaching. We become the very embodiment of growth within the winter, hope within the struggle, and light within the darkness. We are not just having a fancy fruit party, we are energizing the fruits that hide within us so that one day soon, when the time is ripe, they will blossom and show their true colours. That's why we celebrate now, in the winter. We are celebrating not just the destination, but the journey itself.
