Blessings
"SHEHECHIYANU"
Eating a fruit for the first time in its season is considered one of the appropriate occasions for the special blessing of joy, shehe’cheyanu.
"Blessed are You...who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion."
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam shehe’cheyanu v’ki’manu v’hegianu lazman hazeh.
A special blessing can be made when we move from one kind of wine to a higher quality wine or liquor.
(Blessed are You….who is good and does good)
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam… hatov v’hametiv.
Blessings for smelling:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam…
fruit: borei re’ach tov bapeirot
trees: borei `atsey b’samim
plants: borei isvay b’samim
prepared spices: borei miney b’samim
Blessings for eating:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam…
wine: borei p’ri hagafen
drinks: shehakol nihyeh bid’varo
tree fruit: borei p’ri ha’etz
grains: borei miney mezonot
vegetables / ground fruit: borei p’ri ha’adamah
“The Talmud says that someone who eats and doesn’t say a blessing is considered a thief. Why? Because every aspect of God’s creation is inherently holy. So when one eats a piece of fruit, he is depriving the world of a piece of holiness. A blessing re-infuses the world with holiness. Eating without a blessing, however, lowers the level of holiness in the world without replacing the loss — and is regarded as theft. ”
“The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidut, was once visiting the home of Rabbi Yaakov Koppel. When Rabbi Yaakov danced in front of his Shabbos table for an hour, the Baal Shem Tov asked to explain this unusual custom. Rabbi Yaakov replied: “Before I taste physical food, I absorb the food’s spiritual essence. In doing so, I become so excited that I sing and dance!””
Themes
Repair
By eating of fruit on Tu BeShevat with profound kavvanah, we can make a tikkun (repair) for all our eating of the Tree of Knowledge. All Jewish eating should be holy, but this feast is a special time to dedicate ourselves to elevating all our bodily activities, particularly our eating, to spirituality.
"May all the sparks scattered by our hands, or by the hands of our ancestors, or by the sin of the first human against the fruit of the tree, be returned and included in the majestic might of the Tree of Life." Pri Etz Hadar
If we want to eat on Tu BeShevat in holiness, we must wait to eat until our strong desire for the food is subdued and spiritualized. Part of a holy meal is not giving in, as Adam and Eve did, to food lust.
“My teacher used to say that one should intend, while eating the fruits [at the seder], to repair the sin of Adam, who sinned by eating fruit from the tree. Although this repair should be our intention all the days of the year, nevertheless, a mitzvah at its special time is precious, and this day is the beginning and New Year for the fruits of the tree.” Aitz Hayyim
Renewal
Nature begins to revive on Tu BeShevat from its long winter sleep and the first stirrings of spring occur deep within the trees. This renewal of Nature is set in motion by a renewed flow of divine vitality from above. This renewal also means that this is a time of special potential for renewal in the soul. We must begin to fulfill that potential on Tu BeShevat. This day is like a second Rosh Hashanah. It is the perfect time to return and grasp at the chance for a new beginning.
Redemption
Tu BeShevat anticipates the ultimate redemption, the return to the Garden of Eden. It anticipates the redemption of the whole world, when we will repair the mistake of Adam and Eve, and eat, this time, fruit from the Tree of Life. In that day, the revelation of Godliness in all of Nature will be palpable. Everyone will be a prophet and a mystic with direct experience of God, and all flesh will see the Unity of Hashem.
Return to the Garden
In The Garden, Adam Harishon (the first man) ate fruit and was satisfied from the trees of Pardes, the orchard. There, trees blossomed in an endless springtime season. Sustenance was found with the extension of an arm. Adam plucked sweetbread from leafy branches and lived in a state of total sheleimut—wholeness.
This was life as it was before man took from the forbidden tree, before exile, nakedness, thorns and the sweat of the brow—before death. In the beginning, Adam had been placed as a gardener east of Eden (Bereishit 2:15). He knew every tree of the field, including the location of the Tree of Life, his antidote and hope. Had Hashem not placed two obstructing angels before his path, Adam would have undoubtedly raced to embrace its branches.
The text of our Tu BeShevat Seder is called a “tikkun.” The word means correction and reflects the intended purpose of the seder. Through the ingesting of symbolic foods, the sensitive observer intends to connect to, and participate in, a process of spiritual repair, opening the gates to the Tree of Life.
The Brit Hachadasha reveals Mashiach’s role as Adam Hasheini (the second man). He is the True Tzaddik, performing acts of Tikkun. The “second Adam” is able to uncover the path to Gan Eden. Through out the pages of our Besorot, Yeshua retraces the steps of Adam, reconnecting humanity to its source.
As if to rewind the ancient story, Yeshua’s suffering is intentionally portrayed as a reversal of our Genesis narrative. Before giving his life, a crown of thorns was placed upon the Tzaddik’s brow (Yo. 19:2). We can only wonder if he didn’t whisper the words, “Thorns and thistles shall the earth sprout for you,” and “By the sweat of your brow shall you eat…”
That Yeshua was led beyond the walls of the holy city easily evokes the memory of an original exile beyond the bounds of paradise. Our scripture informs that Yeshua was returned to the original state of mankind, being stripped naked, his garments being stolen by wicked men (Mat 27:33-36).
Then, to use the language of Shimon bar Yonah; “Yeshua bore our transgressions, being hanged on a tree” (1 Kefa 2:24). As the Mashiach nears death, our text becomes clear and even obvious. Having been crucified beside a repentant transgressor, Yeshua turned and said to the man, “Today you will be with me in Pardes, in The Orchard of The Garden (Luke 23:43).” After the death of Mashiach, tzaddikim from Jerusalem requested his body. They wrapped and packed the body in one-hundred pounds of fragrant spices; it was placed in a grave hidden in a garden.
Miriam Magdala came and stood outside the kever (tomb); looking inside she saw two angels guarding the place where Mashiach’s body had been. Believing that these angels were simply men, she began franticly searching for Yeshua’s body in the garden. Our Besorah recalls that as Miriam, with tear streaked face, turned about the garden she actually saw Yeshua standing in its midst, but took him for “the gardener.” The language used is intentional. Here Mashiach returns to the garden to reclaim the life of humanity. Yeshua is the gardener—the second Adam. The image created in the text of our Besorah is that of a man and a woman standing in a garden. Finally, with the ascent of Mashiach, on the fortieth day of the Omer, we witness a true return to The Garden—The Orchard.
"They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She replied, “Because they have taken away my master, and I don’t know where they have laid him.” As she was turning about looking this way and that, she saw Yeshua standing, but she didn’t realize who it was. Now Yeshua asked the question, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Thinking him to be the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you carried off the body, tell me where you laid it—I’ll care for it. Yeshua spoke to her again, “Miriam.” She stopped and again turned to the man and exclaimed, “Rabboni, my master!” Yeshua told her, “Don’t try to hold onto me, I will still ascend to my Father; Go to my brothers, and say this: ‘I ascend to my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.’”
Our story ends the way it began, with a man and a woman in a garden….
One with Creation
The mystics teach that Nature has no separate existence. It too is only part of aspect of God, and divine. God and Nature relate like a snail, whose shell-dwelling is part of its very self.
The Tree
One day when Honi, the righteous man, was out walking, he came upon a man planting a carob tree.
"How long will it be before this tree bears fruit?" Honi asked.
"Seventy years," the man replied.
"How do you know you'll be alive in seventy years?"
"Just as I found carob trees when I came into the world," answered the man, "so I am now planting carob trees for my grandchildren to enjoy." (B. Talmud Taanit 23a)
A man was journeying in the desert. He was hungry, weary and thirsty, and he lighted upon a tree, the fruits of which were sweet, its shade pleasant, and a stream of water was flowing beneath it. He ate of its fruits, drank of the water and rested under its shade.
When he was about to continue his journey he said:
"Tree, oh tree, with what shall I bless you?
Shall I say to you: May your fruits be sweet? They are sweet already.
That your shade be pleasant? It is already pleasant.
That a stream of water may flow beneath you. Lo, a stream of water flows already beneath you.
Therefore, I say, may it be God's will, that all the shoots taken from you be like you." (B. Talmud Taanit 5b)
“Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai used to say: If you happen to be standing with a sapling in your hand and someone says to you, “Behold, the Messiah has come!” — First plant the tree and then go out to greet him. ”
Why is it that the Mishnah teaching that calls Tu BeShevat the New Year of the Trees actually refers to the “tree” (singular, ilan) rather than the plural “trees” (ilanot)? They said that this refers to the cosmic Tree of Life. Its roots are in heaven and, through its trunk and branches, divine vitality and life flow downward to re-create, renew, and energize the world at every moment.
On Tu BeShevat, when the sap begins to flow anew in the trees, our holy intention should be to advance and further the live-giving downward flow of divine energy, the “sap” from the Tree of Life.
On Tu B'Shvat, we should pray that come next Sukkot, we are able to acquire a beautiful and kosher Esrog, so we can fulfill the commandment of taking that one on the Four Species to the fullest. This is alluded to by the Mishna's use of the word "tree" in the singular: THE tree that we need in order to fulfill a commandment begins its new year, and in order to assure that we can obtain the fruit of THAT tree, we should pray for it on this day.
We Are Trees
By Tzvi Freeman
We are trees, living two lives at once. One life breaking through the soil into this world. Where, with all our might, we struggle to rise above it, grapple for its sun and its dew, desperate not to be torn away by the fury of its storms or consumed by its fires.
Then there are our roots, deep under the ground, unmoving and serene. They are our ancient mothers and fathers, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rivkah, Yaacov, Leah and Rachel. They lie deep within us, at our very core. For them, there is no storm, no struggle. There is only the One, the Infinite, for Whom all the cosmos with all its challenges are nothing more than a fantasy renewed every moment from the void.
Our strength is from our bond with them, and with their nurture we will conquer the storm. We will bring beauty to the world we were planted within.
The Seven Species
The Torah speaks of seven species of fruits and grains that are the pride of the Land of Israel. The five fruits are grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates; the two grains are wheat and barley. (Deut. 8:7-8) It is a widespread custom on Tu BeShevat to eat these special fruits and grains. There is special merit to partake of these fruits as they knit us spiritually to the land of Israel.
Grain
The Jews are called “the first of His grain” (referring to wheat and barley; Jeremiah 2:3)
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.
Fruits
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam borei p’ri ha’etz.
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam shehe’cheyanu v’ki’manu v’hegianu lazman hazeh.
"Blessed are You...who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion."
The Holy One, blessed by He, created everything in this world so that a person can learn from it a way to refine his character and the straight path to perfect his soul with God, blessed be He. For, aside from the Torah that He gave us – which teaches us that He created all the worlds, and teaches us how to behave toward Him, blessed be He – He also created the world so that a person can learn wisdom from every created thing, as it says in Job (35):”Who teaches us from the beasts of the earth and instructs us from the birds of the air.” [Another verse says:] “A person is [like] a tree of the field.” [So we can learn from trees also, and from fruits.] Rabbi Yissachar Dov Ber
Olives
"God called your name 'a green olive tree, nice and beautiful fruit.'" (Jeremiah 11:16)
"Your children shall be like olive plants around your table." (Psalms 123:3)
Rabbi Yehoshuah Ben Levi said: "Why is Israel compared to an olive tree? Because just as the leaves of an olive tree do not fall off either in summer or winter, so too the Jewish people shall not be cast off -- neither in this world nor in the World to Come." (Talmud - Menachot 53b)
The Sages taught: "Just as olive oil brings light into the world, so do the people of Israel bring light into the world." (Midrash -- Shir HaShirim Raba 1:2)
Dates
"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree" (Psalms 92:13). The righteous are fruitful and sweet, just like a date palm.
"Your stature is like a palm tree" (Song of Songs 7:8). Just as the palm tree doesn't bend or sway, so too the Jewish people.
"No part of the palm tree is wasted. The dates are for eating; the Lulav branches are for waving in praise on Sukkot; the dried thatch is for roofing; the fibers are for ropes; the leaves are for sieves; and the trunk is for house beams. So too, every one of the Jewish people is needed. Some are knowledgeable in Bible, others in Mishnah, others in Aggada (homiletic understanding of the Torah). Still others perform many mitzvot, and others give much charity." (Midrash - Bamidbar Raba 3:1)
Grapes
"Just as a vine has large and small clusters and the large ones hang lower, so too the Jewish people: Whoever labors in Torah and is greater in Torah, seems lower than his fellow [due to his humility]." (Midrash - Vayikra Raba 36:2)
Why is Israel compared to the grapevine? Just as when the owner of a vine seeks to improve it, he uproots it and plants it in another place, thereby improving it—so too, when the Holy One, blessed be He, sough to make Israel known in the world, what did He do? He uprooted them from Egypt and brought them to the desert, and they began to prosper there. They received the Torah, and their name went forth throughout the world. (Exodus Rabbah 44)
Figs
Rabbi Yochanan said: "What is the meaning of 'He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit'? (Proverbs 27:18) Why is the Torah compared to a fruit tree? Figs on a tree do not ripen all at once, but a little each day. Therefore, the longer one searches in the tree, the more figs he finds. So too with Torah: The more one studies, the more knowledge and wisdom one finds." (Talmud - Eruvin 54a)
Pomegranates
"Let us get up early to the vineyards. Let us see if the vine has flowered, if the grape blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates have budded. There I will give you my love."
"If the pomegranates have budded." These are the little children who study Torah and sit in rows in their class like the seeds of a pomegranate." (Midrash - Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6:11)
“Rami Bar Yechezkel once came to Bnei Brak and saw goats grazing under a fig tree. Honey was dripping from the figs and milk from the goats — and they became intermingled. He said: “Behold, a land flowing with milk and honey!””
Wine
White wine represents nature in potential. Red wine represents nature in full bloom. On this day, we begin to leave the winter behind and move into a period of renewal and life.
It is stated in the Zohar: "Wine has two colors -- white and red. White is from the right side [of kindness]; red from the left side [of strength and judgment]."
As we progress from white to red, we move from potential to actuality. We are able to appreciate God's judgment as well as His kindness. We see God's design and goodness in the world with increasing clarity.
We “sweeten the judgments” when we realize that the ultimate source of all severity (gevurah) is compassion (rachamim) and that it is a vessel for love (chesed). When we recognize God’s love and compassion even in suffering, we are in the Garden of Eden.
Wine, which is concealed in the grape, is a symbol for the mystic teachings of Torah. The grape is the revealed Torah; wine is the concealed Torah that intoxicates.
"Wine rejoices the heart of man." This refers to the wine of Torah. Yayin (Hebrew for wine) equals 70, the numerical value of Sod, meaning "secret." [Wine represents the hidden aspects of the Torah.] ("Zohar" -- Parshat Pinchas).
When a person is joyful, he expresses his inner Nature, as it says “When wine goes in, the secret goes out.” Wine reveals our inner secret. The soul’s secret is its innate love for God and for people.
The Almighty said: "Although wine can be a source of trouble in this world, in the future I shall make it only a source of joy, as it says: 'And it shall come to pass on that day, that the mountains will drip with sweet wine' (Yoel 3:18)." (Midrash - Vayikra Rabbah 12:5)
Transformed Rivers of Eden
Yeshua’s first miracle brought forth wine from water. This life giving water was transformed to an even higher, hidden level revealed through his miracle. Yeshua’s ultimate desire is to bring us all closer to the Creator by elevating our soul’s connection to its Origin. This elevation is brought forth through a tikkun (repair) to bring us back to Eden.
“A river went out from Eden to water the garden” (Gen. 2:10); this is the wine stored in the grapes since the six days of Creation (cf. Psalm 46:5 “There is a river whose streams make glad”). “And it divided into four principle rivers”; these are the four cups of wine consumed at the Tu BeShevat seder.
God will make a feast of fruits for the righteous in the Garden of Eden; the drink at the feast will be wine. Wine symbolizes intoxicating joy. The “wine stored in the grapes since the six days of Creation” (Berachot 34) is the legendary wine beyond compare that God serves at His “feast” for those close to Him. The feast and wine are symbols for the spiritual renewal that God has prepared for the righteous. Giving this reward was His intention from the beginning of Creation. The “river” that waters Eden (which means “delight”) is equivalent to the “wine stored in the grapes.” That river of wine is the ever flowing delight that comes from closeness to God.
Our holy sages have said: ‘Whoever becomes agreeable [to repentance] after drinking wine is like his Creator.” He is encompassed within the Infinite One, blessed be He, and wants nothing other than to cleave to the Life of all life, and to be within Him, blessed be He. (Rosh Hashanah LaIlanot)
Four Worlds
The four cups of wine in a Tu BeShevat seder represent the four letters of God’s great name, Y-H-V-H. Each letter represents one of the four worlds in descending order—Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah (nearness, creation, formation, action).
During the seder, a divine flow of goodness descends from higher to lower worlds. The following explanation is based on the teaching of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.
The first letter, yud, represents God’s gifts to us, for example, of fruit to eat or wine to drink. The gift can also be understood as existence itself and everything that happens to us. The second letter, heh, represents God’s “five-fingered hand” (heh has a numerical value of five). The letter can also be seen as having an opening at the top that is a channel from God, while the opening at the bottom is a channel to us below. The third letter, vav, represents God’s arm reaching down to give. The fourth letter, heh, is our hand accepting the gift.
During a Tu BeShevat seder, one may meditate with each cup of wine on one of the letters of God’s name—on yud, His gifts; on the first heh, His hand that gives; on the vav, His arm that extends down to us; and on the final heh, our hand that receives.
Into each world we ascend. As we transition from one to another we move from potential to actual.
| World | Hashem | Fruit | Personal | Wine | Understanding | Element - Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atzilut (Emanation, Birthing) |
Yud (Chokhmah) |
Fragrance Beyond physical fruit |
Being next to G-d |
Red with drop of White (nature in full bloom) |
Sod Secret, Transcendent |
Fire Fall |
|
Briyah (World of Creation Something from nothing) |
Heh (Binah) |
Fruit completely edible | Open on all levels | Half Red, Half White |
D’rash Midrashic, Poetry |
Air Summer |
|
Yetzirah (World of Formation) |
Vav (Tiferet) |
Fruit with a pit Shell on the inside |
Inner defenses | White with drop of Red |
Remez Moral, Ethical, Parable, Allegory |
Water Spring |
|
Asiyah (World of Doing/Making) |
Heh (Shekhinah) |
Hard outside shell | Outer defenses |
All white (nature in potential) |
P’shat Simple, Literal |
Earth Winter |
Asiyah
World of Doing and Making
Now we drink our first cup which is white wine representing the winter season at its peak.
Elevate
When eating fruits or nuts with shells that represent Asiyah, the world of physicality and action, attend carefully to the physical acts involved in eating, such as chewing and swallowing. How can these acts be elevated? First, be sure to follow spiritual etiquette: do not bend down to the food; do not descend to the food, symbolically raise it into the spiritual realm. As you do this, be aware that God is giving you the ability to move and to perform all these complicated acts.
“Once when Rav Kook was walking in the fields, lost deep in thought, the young student with him inadvertently plucked a leaf off a branch. Rav Kook was visibly shaken by this act and, turning to his companion he said gently: “believe me when I tell you that I never simply pluck a leaf or a blade of grass or any living thing unless I have to. Every part of the vegetable world is singing a song and breathing forth a secret of the divine mystery of the creation.” The words of Rav Kook penetrated deeply into the mind of the young student: For the first time he understood what it means to show compassion to all creatures.
”
The world of Asiyah has an outside shell that must be discarded and an inside that can be eaten.
The symbolism is as follows. Those parts that can be eaten represent holiness, the inedible parts—that is, the pits—represent the impure, and the shells serve as protection for the fragile holiness inside.
Rabbi Tarfon compared the People of Israel to a pile of walnuts. If one walnut is removed, each and every nut in the pile is shaken and disturbed. So too with Israel: when a single Jew is in distress, every other Jew is shaken by the trouble (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 6:11).
A superficial person who focuses only on the externals of the mitzvot and ignores their inner spiritual purpose, is like a child who plays spinning walnuts. If you offer him the meat of a walnut to eat, he refuses it, saying, “That doesn’t spin or make a noise, I don’t want that.”
The nut is a fruit that hints at the Shechinah (Zohar, Exodus 15). It is surrounded by a hard shell. In order to merit, to see and experience God’s glorious Divine Presence, blessed be He, a person must break the hard shell that surrounds his mind. A person is unable to experience and see His glorious Divine Presence, blessed be He, because the way the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, His light is covered by a hard shell. One must break the nutshell to get to the fruit… (Rabbi Eliezer Shlomo Schick of Breslov– New York)
Personalize
As you toss away the peels and shells, see one of your bad character traits (anger, impatience, etc.) being tossed away. In your mind's eye, picture the bad trait as the shell. Then, as you toss it away, feel the trait leaving you. That's not the real you. The real you is the fruit... delicious and nourishing. See the trait going into the garbage.
Outer defenses
Entering an unfriendly or anxiety-producing atmosphere, one is guarded, externally armored
Yetzirah
World of Formation,
Crafting one thing from another thing
Our second cup of wine is white, but tinged with red. It symbolizes the beginnings of springtime and the earth’s reawakening. In Israel, pink and white flowers dot the hills and mountains at this season of the year. As we drink the wine, let us think of one hope or wish we have for the coming spring.
Elevate
When eating fruits with a pit that represent Yetzirah, the world of feeling, tune in to your feelings as you eat. Be aware of your hunger and fear (of deprivation) that accompanies it. Be aware of the strength that enters you as you eat, of the relief and pleasure that you feel from the taste of the food and the act of eating. How can this be elevated? Remind yourself that God cares for you and you can trust in Him, and that He is the source of your relief and pleasure while eating.
Understand that pleasure to be from the nearness of the Shechinah, for God is feeding you.
Yetzirah is the world of formation and birth. Water, the fluid element, gives shape to all matter. Our hearts are folded rivers; our bones are spiralling vortices; knots in trees are recycling eddies. From water, the heart, pours forth blessing and emotions.
U-shav-tem mayim b’sasson. mee ma’ayanay ha-Yeshua.
And you shall draw water with gladness from the wells of salvation.
The world of yetzirah has pits inside, but the outside can be eaten.
The edible parts of the fruit represent holiness. Pits represent impurities which have penetrated the holiness.
As the color of the wine begins to gets darker, we can start to see potential turn into reality. The inedible part has now moved from the outside to the inside of the fruit. This is an advancement toward purity. In addition, the inedible part is no longer waste; it is a seed with potential to grow.
Personalize
Imagine one of your bad traits as this seed. Really see it. Then, see that trait growing and developing into something great. This trait no longer holds you back, but propels you forward. Many great people have turned their faults into assets. You too can become great.
Inner defenses
In friendlier surroundings, but superficial or entered with some reservations, there is more interpersonal contact and exchange, even some degree of affable sharing, but the very private self remains surrounded by the inner shell.
Briyah
World of Creation
Something from nothing
We now lift our cups a third time with wine of crimson hue, representing the beginning of Spring with its promise of bountiful grain harvest.
Elevate
We eat the entire body of the fruit which represents this world. This fruit is both wholly soft so that it can be wholly taken in by us, and is yet wholly strong, structured so that it needs no outer hard shell nor inner hard pit: its special strength is present in its every portion.
Beriah represents the world of thought. Attend to your thoughts as you eat, your awareness of the fruit, of what you are doing, or where you are and why. How can this be elevated? Remember that God created the fruit with all its physical aspects of color, shape, taste, and nutritiousness. God also created you, everyone else present, and the room you are in, with all the other physical aspects and characteristics of your immediate environment. He created your hunger and the food that fulfills it. He created and recreates the whole universe every moment.
In Arabic, the wind is “ruh,” but the same word also means ‘breath’ and ‘spirit.’ In Jewish tradition, the word “ruach” has been broadened to include concepts of creation and divinity.
Without wind, most of Earth would be uninhabitable. But with the wind, Earth comes truly alive. Winds provide the circulatory and nervous systems of the planet, sharing out energy and information, distributing both warmth and awareness, making something out of nothing.
“Choni, the righteous man, was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree. He asked him, “how long does it take for this tree to bear fruit?” “In about 70 years,” answered the man. “But you are so old, you will never taste its fruit.” “You are right, but I have eaten the fruit of trees that have been planted before I was born. I plant for my daughters and sons, granddaughters and grandsons.”
(Choni sat down to have a meal and sleep overcame him. As he slept, a rocky formation enclosed upon him which hid him from sight and he continued to sleep for seventy years. When he awoke he saw a man gathering the fruit of the carob tree and he asked him, “are you the man who planted the tree?” The man replied, “I am his grandson.” Thereupon Choni exclaimed: “It is clear that I slept for seventy years.””
For us, Judaism is the carob tree planted by others: our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, and the many Jews who lived and developed our tradition. It is now for us to plant for ourselves by connecting and making traditions passed on to us our own. In addition, we plant for the future by adding our energy and creativity to Jewish life in its many forms and styles. (Commentary on carob in Europe)
“Then the Lord God formed the human of the dust of the ground, and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life; and the human became a living soul.”
Personalize
Things are coming close to their full potential. Even the seeds are now edible. They not only have future potential, but are also delicious and ready to eat right now.
Think about an area of life you would like to improve. Picture your ideal self. Realize that's the real you. Now, for the rest of Tu B'Shvat, actually be that person. Act as if you're already there. The experience can be transformational.
Open on all levels
In situations of deep trust and intimacy, however, the inner self is revealed and shared with another; at this moment of I–Thou there is no inner shell
Atzilut
Emanation, Birthing
We now fill our cups a fourth and final time with the wine red in color representing the ruling of Spring and the first hints of summer with its mature fruits whose blossoms were born on Tu B’Shvat.
Elevate
When smelling a fragrant fruit that represents Atzilut, the world of nearness to God, briefly attend to your body, your feelings, your thoughts, and then transcend all of them. Stop thinking; just experience God’s nearness. You are in the Garden of Eden at the supernal table before Hashem.
The fourth Kabbalistic category of creation was spiritual and therefore unrepresentable by physical food. , Olam Ha’atzilut dealt with God’s love, mercy, wisdom, and other essential and omnipresent realities which we perceive with our hearts rather than our five senses.
“No man is sterile. Every soul is pregnant with the seed of insight. It is vague and hidden. In some people the seed grows; in others it decays. Some give birth to life. Others miscarry it. Some know how to bear it, to nurse, to rear an insight that comes into being. Others do not.…”
The world of nearness (Atzilut) cannot be symbolized visually by the physical characteristics of a fruit. But according to tradition, it can be suggested by a fruit’s fragrant scent. Rabbi Moshe Hagiz wrote: “To draw a divine flow to the soul from the world of Atzilut, one must make a blessing over, and smell the fragrance of, an etrog.”
An etrog studded with cinnamon sticks is often used for the blessing over spices at havdalah, at the end of the Sabbath. The rabbis say that spices sniffed at havdalah restore the soul. They also say that a scent delights and benefits the soul, but not the body. Therefore, the world of nearness can be detected by the more refined and subtle sense of smell. One draws a divine flow to the soul from the world of nearness by smelling fragrant fruit and making a blessing.
The Talmud states that the sense of Mashiach is the sense of smell. "And he shall smell in the awe of G-d"--"he shall judge by smell" (rather than by sight or hearing. Isaiah 11:3; Sanhedrin 93b). By his sense of smell (his ruach hakodesh, "holy spirit") the Mashiach will know how to connect each Jewish soul to its Divine root, and thereby identify its tribe (branch) in Israel.
Personalize
When a person attains the world of Atzilut, nearness to God, he needs no hardness to protect him. He is protected by a holy softness and flexibility that allow him to flow with adverse events and remain unharmed, or to experience even what seems bad to others as good.
Inhale the scent of a fragrant fruit. Think: What hints of higher spiritual levels can I detect in my life? What can I aspire to?