A crucial component of developing a carbon offset program for Temple Anshe Hesed was finding a way to get the congregation interested and involved. Rabbi John Bush suggested using the annual Tu B'Shvat seder as a focusing event. Tu B'Shvat, known as the Jewish earth day, ended up being an ideal context for the message of the program.

History of Tu B'Shvat
Tu B'Shvat is celebrated in the 15th day of the month of Shvat (1). It's earliest mention is found in the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1:1): "the New Year for a tree...on [Shvat's] fifteenth day"(2). It was originally a day of tithing during the period of the Second Temple. Every year, one-tenth of the harvest from the previous year was brought to the Temple to celebrate God and give to the poor (3). The New Year was placed in the middle of winter so it would be easy to distinguish the fruits of one crop from another so as not to mix them in the tithing (4). In the time of exile and estrangement from the land, Tu B'Shvat went mostly uncelebrated, but rose again in popularity in the sixteenth century when mystics in Tzfat modeled a tikkun, healing, on the Passover seder. Their seder design included four cups of wine, three plates of fruit and readings about nature-- all which symbolized the cycle of life and importance of the natural world. In the design they emphasized the mitzvah of blessing, in order to heal the wounds of the natural world; it is why so many fruits are eaten during the seder, to provide more opportunities for blessings (5). Tu B'Shvat did not become associated with tree planting, specifically, until the twentieth century when the Jewish National Fund began emphasizing the importance of planting trees in order to restore the State of Israel (6).

Evolution of the Seder

I initially designed a seder similar to that of the Kabbalists. It spoke of the four worlds:
*Assiyah, the world of Action, in which white wine represents the season of winter and fruits with hard shells and soft insides represent the protective covering needed to survive winter or the feeling of earth beneath ones' feet.
*Yetzirah, the world of Emotion, in which white wine with a dash of red represents spring and fruits with soft outsides and a hard inner shell represent the rebirth of seeds in spring or the well of creativity which flows through life.
*Briyah, the world of Thought, in which red wine with a dash of white represents summer and fruits which were soft throughout represent the dream-like freedom of summer or the unseen power of thoughts.
*Atzilut, the world of Spirit, in which red wine represents autumn and no fruits are able to represent the essence which is the completion of a life cylce and the transformation of divine being (7).

Upon firming up the details of the seder night and realizing that the majority of participants would be 5th to 8th graders, I removed the more abstract notions of the Kabbalist worlds, leaving the representations of seasons and characterizations of fruit: hard outer shell representing a challenge, hard inner shell representing inner strength, soft throughout representing the combination of action and thought and a fourth empty plate representing the potential for thoughtful action to create change in the world.

Night of the Seder

The seder was held on January 23, 2008 and was attended by approximately twenty kids and eight adults. The kids ranged in age from fifth to eighth graders. The seder involved songs, games and stories, in addition to the drinking of wine (grape juice) and eating of the fifteen fruits.

Tu B'Shvat seder booklet

The first cup of wine and plate of fruit was followed by a series of questions which started the discussion on energy: the participants were asked how plants and humans get energy and were made to draw connections back to the sun. Then the concept of drawing energy for homes and businesses from the rays of the sun was discussed as well as the way in which a solar panel works. This was followed by the first activity.

The second cup of wine and plate of fruit was followed by a discussion of where solar panels can be used and why some places are better fit for using solar panels as a primary source of energy than others. This portion also involved the second activity.

Following the third cup of wine and plate of fruit, we discussed things which can be done by groups and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint.

Seder Activities

The first activity was a way of getting the kids involved from the very beginning and keeping their attention. It also turned out to be a great way to hear everyone's name and learn a few. One person was designated the solar panel and another person at the opposite side of the table became the light bulb (they held a flashlight). When the rays of the sun hit the "solar panel" s/he said her/his name and squeezed the hand of the person next to her, who said their name and squeezed the hand of the next in line and so on, until the squeeze reached the end of the line and the "light bulb" came on, having received the energy made by the solar panel from the rays of the sun.

The second activity involved KNEX toys which were powered by small solar panels. There were different designs (a man pumping a wheel, several car designs and a spinning chair similar to a popular amusement park ride). Using a lightbulb to simulate the sun (since it was February and the sun had already set), the participants were able to see how the toys were able to convert the light into electricity.

(1) Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). What is Tu B'Shvat? Accessed 15 October 2007, <http://www.coejl.org/~coejlor/tubshvat/documents/tub_whatis.php>.

(2), (4) Waskow, Arthur. "Growing Tu B'Shvat: The Life Juice of the Tree of History". In Trees, Earth and Torah: A Tu B'Shvat Anthology, edited by Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman and Arthur Waskow, 3-21. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1999.

(3) Elon, Ari, Naomi Mara Hyman and Arthur Waskow. "Introduction to the Tree". In Trees, Earth and Torah: A Tu B'Shvat Anthology, edited by Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman and Arthur Waskow, xv-xvi. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1999.

(5), Bernstein, Ellen. "A History of Tu B'Shvat". In Ecology and the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature and the Sacred Meet, edited by Ellen Bernstein,139-142. Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1998.

(6) Bernstein, Ellen. "The Tu B'Shvat Seder". In Ecology and the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature and the Sacred Meet, edited by Ellen Bernstein,142-150. Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1998.

(7) Bernstein, Ellen and Dan Fink. "Tu B'Shvat: The Jewish New Year of the Trees". In Let the Earth Teach You Torah, edited by Ellen Bernstein and Dan Fink, 156-161. Wyncote PA: Shomrei Adamah, Keepers of the Earth, 1992.