What is Tu B’shevat you ask? Why it is the holiday of trees established by the Talmudic rabbis sometime between the 3rd to 5th century –the early part of the Middle Ages.
As the daughter of liberal Jewish activists (my parents met at a civil rights meeting in the 1960’s) I’ve always been really into this holiday which is described by wikipedia as follows:
Tu Bishvat is considered by secular Israeli Jews and organizations to be the Jewish equivalent of Arbor Day…Ecological organizations in Israel and the diaspora have adopted the holiday to further environmental-awareness programs.
I remember the rituals of Tu B’shevat growing up –to celebrate my family planted trees. Additionally, I have a very personal connection to this holiday. According to the website Think Baby Names:
Elana e-la-na as a girl’s name is pronounced ee-LAHN-ah. It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Elana is “tree”.
Here’s more on Tu Bishvat from about.com:
An annual new year for trees was established by Talmudic rabbis so that Jews could calculate the age of trees and know when they could be harvested. Jews celebrate Tu B’Shvat by serving dishes containing fruit mentioned in the Bible either for a regular meal or for a Tu B’Shvat Seder ceremony.
When I saw my Rabbi today he had many interesting ideas to share with me about Tu B’Shevat. According to Rabbi Gavriel, the words that make up the name of this holiday have a simple relevance. The celebration falls during the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat. The Hebrew letters “tuf” and “vuv” make up the numbers 6 and 9 which add up to 15 –are you still following this?!
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He further explained to me that this holiday is not the New Year of the Trees, it is the New Year of the Tree, and it is thought that the reference to “tree” could be a mystical reference to the Tree of Life. For more fascinating information of this type, you can take a look at my Rabbi’s column. He provides further detail on this wonderful holiday we call Rosh Hashanah Ilan or Tu B’Shevat.
- Baked Apples
- Fruit Salad
- Stuffed Dates
- Double Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pecan Shortbread Cookies
According to wikipedia, Tu Bishvat (Hebrew: ??? ?????) is a minor Jewish holiday. This year, it will fall upon the dusk of February 7 through the dusk of February 8, 2012. Generally, Tu Bishvat falls on the second full moon before Passover, or, in a leap year, the third full moon before Passover.
Dena says
I LOVE Tu b’Shevat! There’s a special seder to follow in which you eat different types of fruits including olives, figs, etc. Fruits with seeds you eat, fruits with pits, fruits with skin you don’t eat, fruits with skin you do eat I think are the four categories. Drink red wine, white wine, red and white mixed. Nuts. Honestly, this is the easiest gluten-free holiday… by the time you eat all that, who needs anything more?! Time to dig up my Tu b’Shvat seder notes.
Jennifer wood says
I must plant a fruit tree to celebrate!
Donna says
Are you using the smaller size loaf pan? It’s about 7″ x 3.5″…for some reason the GF loaves bake/rise better in the smaller size. I’ve had that same”raw” experience using regular size pans.
Raquel of Galilee says
Elana: so brave to discuss Tu B’Shvat.
Our European colleugues open their Outlook Calendar to which they have added “Jewish Holidays” and they are puzzled as to what “New year of Trees” could possibly mean. Next time I will send them a link to “elana’s pantry”!
I so enjoyed your explanation.
You have some special Rabbi – I’m going to read his words.
Here in the Galilee (northern Israel) the wild almond trees are just bark and pink blooms at the time of Tu B’Shvat. Lovely.
Enjoy the bountiful fruit!
Naomi says
You really do rock.
ginger says
I need help with your paleo bread. I made it just like the recipe and it came out looking great. When I sliced it, the middle was raw. What am I doing wrong???? This happened with another bread recipe I tried. I’ve been making bread for years and don’t know what is happening. I’d appreciate any help or suggestions.
Gena Elana says
Thank you for this post. Tu B’Shevat is one of my favorite holidays.
Judee @ Gluten Free A-Z says
I remember celebrating Tu Bishvat when I was a kid. The Hebrew school used to make a little baggie of fruits and nuts for each student.
The most popular was a sweet pod from a tree that what was called ” Buxor” which as an I adult I found it was actually a pod of “carob”! Thanks for the memories.. I forgot about that holiday Maybe I’ll make a special platter of nuts and fruits for the superbowl party in honor of Tu Bishvat!
Lindsay says
We did the carob thing too!!! (That was when we went to the hippie/Reconstructionist shul) Good times! I was just telling my husband how much fun that was as kids. I wonder where you find those carob pods. They were pretty good, if memory serves!
Arin says
My school passed out those pods, too. As an adult, I always wondered what they were and I am so happy to now know that they were carob.
Erin says
That’s really very beautiful :) My first and middle names mean Peace Warrior. So much behind a name, eh?
Pat says
Very interesting. As a lover of trees, I really enjoyed this story, Elana. Er tree…What a nice name to have!
Pat