Tu B’shvat – the birthday of trees/fruit

It’s almost February and we’re looking ahead to Tu B’shvat!

Tu B’shvat – The Birthday of the Trees/Fruit
You’ll immediately see from the list of coming events that Tu B’shvat (also Tu Bishvat) is on the horizon. It begins at sundown on February 12th. One of my sternest rules for myself is that I give you a complete historically accurate background on Jewish practice – not a modern adaptation. If you KNOW what a holiday’s foundation is, you can comfortably make your own authentic activities and prayers. You won’t be caught with your pants down when a Jewishly educated person asks you, “What is all this?” So go read these details on Aish, an Orthodox website whose description includes the foundational teachings from the Mishnah. This holiday needs to be understood from its agricultural roots. It’s so empowering!

Now you can explain – in age appropriate ways – to your children about the holiday. The ancient sages’ intention creates protection for the young tree and lays out the taxing process for the farmers. It might seem simple or outdated, but like our Constitution, it carries directions that are for the ages.

OK, what about the fun?
Food: Make a Dirt Cake. I found this recipe seven years ago and now the page seems to be dead. BUT LOOK AT THE PICTURE! That’s what you’re going for.

Here’s a recipe that looks less glamorous – but I bet your kids won’t care.

Activities: Go outdoors! Have a walk in the woods. Collect beautiful leaves. Start a garden. Plant a tree or something smaller. Buy some peat pots and start some seeds for your summer garden. Parsley, cilantro and basil are very rewarding.

Prayers/blessings: Eat a new-for-the –season fruit and say the blessing.
“Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elohai-nu Melech HaOlam boray pri ha-aitz.”

“Blessed are you God, King of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the tree.”

Have a Seder: My very first Tu B’shvat Seder was a women’s event and I LOVED it. So some girlfriends and I created our own Seder in subsequent years. You can see the entire thing here and see if you want to adapt your own version. FYI, you can use grape juice instead of wine if you’re including children, or avoiding alcohol.

Those we gained & those we lost
Finally, I can’t go into Shabbat without mentioning our three freed hostages, Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28) and Doron Steinbrecher (31) who were met by their mothers as soon as they got back to Israel. If you’ve seen any of the photos you’ll see Romi in her mother’s lap. I remember my own mother telling an adult-me, “You’ll never be too old for me to hold you in my lap.”  Now, as the mother of adult children, I understand what she meant. Every child, at any age, is forever their mother’s baby. It’s not an age, it’s a connection. Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh’s mother, will be forever his mother. Even death can’t change some things.  Hold your loved ones close. Close your eyes and make a memory – make a note of how they feel, how they smell, breath, sound.

EVENTS
Kabbalat Shabbat (San Francisco)
PJ Library’s Winter Play Day (Oakland)
Creating & Sustaining Jewish Traditions at Home (Virtual)
Fifth Friday Shabbat Service: Retrospective (Palo Alto)
Tot Shabbat (Piedmont)
Jewbilee (Los Gatos)
Klezmer Shabbat! (Walnut Creek)
Tu B’Shvat ‘Birthday of the Trees’ (Oakland)
Baby Jam (San Rafael)
Tu Bishvat at Shabbat Seder (San Rafael)

Kabbalat Shabbat
Service will be led by Rabbis Jessica Graf and George Altshuler. In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the drash will be by Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, Sr., Founder and Senior Pastor of Renewal Worship Center, Oakland, CA and CEO of Green the Church. Rev. Carroll will discuss his initiatives in climate and racial justice. Followed by a festive Oneg sponsored by Climate Action Team and Social Action Committee.
This service will stream on YouTube.

Date:   Friday, January 24
Time:   6:00pm – 7:00pm
Place:   Sherith Israel, 2266 California Street, San Francisco
More details here

PJ Library’s Winter Play Day
Ball pits, trampolines, rocking horses, climbing material, art play and toys! Perfect for crawlers and preschoolers. Your big kid siblings are always welcome (they can be helpers!). No shoes inside the kindergym space. No food in play space.

Date:   Sunday, Jan. 26
Time:   10am
Place:   Temple Beth Abraham, 327 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland
https://www.tbaoakland.org/
Sign-up here

Creating & Sustaining Jewish Traditions at Home
Whether you’re the Jewish parent or the non-Jewish parent, you’re probably busy. That makes integrating Jewish traditions an additional task – and a time consuming one at that!
What can you do?
What do you have time to do??
Who is in your home – toddlers, school age kids, teens, just the two of you?
Let’s brainstorm about what you wish for and what you hadn’t even thought of to make your house the home of YOUR Jewish practices. I’ll come with ideas. You come with curiosity – and ideas of your own!

Date:   Thursday, January 30
Time:   7 to 8pm
Place:   Online
Free
Email me at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org and I’ll send you the link.

Fifth Friday Shabbat Service: Retrospective
As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our congregation, we will commemorate 20 years of our unique Fifth Friday services by reprising favorite songs that were used in some of the most popular of our 54 (!) Fifth Fridays. This will include music from Carole King, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, the Grateful Dead, Barbra Streisand, and many others. Be prepared to experience our traditional liturgy through the lens of these fabulous songs and, perhaps, gain new spiritual insights as we lift our voices together and dance in our seats.

Date:   Friday, January 31
Time:   7:30 PM
Place:   Etz Chayim, 4161 Alma, Palo Alto
https://www.etzchayim.org/

Tot Shabbat
Join Jen Miriam and Alon Altman with their Puppet Friends. Designed for babies, tots, and children up to 5 with their families! Join us for Shabbat songs and prayers, dancing and puppets and community.

Date:   February 1
Time:   10:30 am – 11:00 am
Place:   Kehilla, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont
In the back Classroom/back Garden – access from the Main Parking Lot.
https://kehillasynagogue.org/

Jewbilee
Join us for our annual day of Jewish Learning, Jewbilee, on the theme of: Powering Creativity – Creativity as a Tool for Transformation How can we unlock imagination for a thriving Jewish future? Our keynote speaker, Rabbi Adina Allen—author, creator, and founder of the Jewish Studio Project—will explore a Jewish perspective on why creativity matters more than ever in today’s uncertain world, and what we might do to unleash and reignite our creative spark.

Date:   Sunday, Feb. 2
Time:   The kids session starts at 9:30am, with the adults following at 10am
Place:   Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos
Cost:    $45/non-JCC members, children are free
Schedule and registration here.

Klezmer Shabbat!
This service features Hazzan Sandy Bernstein and the Shir Hadash Band with special guest, Klezmer violinist Cookie Segelstein.

6pm Happy Half Hour with Hipster Herring Tasting and a custom Ashkenazi cocktail
6:30pm Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat service
Following services will be Oneg Shabbat featuring Angel’s Rugelach

Date:    Friday, Feb. 7
Time:   6pm
Place:   B’nai Shalom, 74 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek
Free, but please RSVP to office@bshalom.org
www.bshalom.org

Tu B’Shvat ‘Birthday of the Trees’
Join Jen Altman of JBN and Rebecca Feigelson of PJ Library and Temple Beth Abraham for a special celebration of Tu B’Shvat, the Birthday of the Trees.  There will be music, dancing, puppets and tree-related crafts and activities.
This event is aimed at children 0 to 5 and their families.

Sunday, February 9
Time:   10:30am to noon
Place:   Temple Beth Abraham, 327 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland
Free, but you must register here

Baby Jam
Calling all families with babies ages 3 months to 2 years! Join Toby Pechner, our Director of Family Worship & Songleading, for Baby Jam, a fun and interactive gathering, where we’ll sing, dance, and explore rhythm together. It’s a wonderful way to bond with your little one while creating lasting connections with other families. Siblings are welcome as well!

Dates:  Feb. 13, Ongoing, meets the 2nd & 4th Thursdays
Time:   12noon to 1pm
Place:   Rodef Sholom, 170 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael
More details here

Tu Bishvat at Shabbat Seder
In lieu of traditional Shabbat services*, we will gather in the Social Hall for an evening of song, and reflections on our relationship with the natural world. We’ll celebrate the birthday of the trees by enjoying fruit, wine, dessert, sharing stories, and exploring some mystical texts connected to Tu Bishvat.
Of all the Jewish holidays, this is one whose themes hold specific resonance to us on a personal, local level. Waking up in the Bay Area each day, we are surrounded by the astonishing beauty of the natural world, just as we are confronted daily by evidence of the fragility and imbalance of that world. Tu Bishvat is our opportunity to strengthen our connection to the Earth, celebrate its abundance, and re-commit to protecting it.
*As part of Shabbat, we will still include the lighting of the candles, L’cha Dodi, Mi Shebeirach, and Mourner’s Kaddish to pray for our loved ones.

Date:   Feb. 14
Time:   6:15pm
Place:   Rodef Sholom, 170 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael
Attend in-person and virtual. You must register to attend in person.