Tu Bishvat Seder 2000\5760, ASBEE

As we are about to drink our first cup of white wine, we find ourselves in the lowest of the 4 plains on which life exists, the world of action, assiya. This is the simplest, most mundane plain of existence. It is our job today, this Tu BiShvat to try to elevate ourselves and the world around us to higher and higher plains. This world of action corresponds to the last letter hey in G-d’s name, and stands for our hand which is ready to receive the blessings of G-d. 

As we drink this first cup, we have in mind through our blessings, to fix the sin of  Adam and Eve who ate that first forbidden tree, the grape of the vine. We hope with this blessing to bring down all the forces of blessing latent in this juice. 

(for those who didn’t partake of kiddush wine earlier:)

Baruch ata Ado-nai E-lo--heinu melech ha-olam, boreh peri hagafen.

Blessed are you Lord our G-d king of the universe who creates the fruit of the vine.

(drink immediately without delay) 

We now eat the fruits which are most associated with this lower world, those fruit which are shelled on the outside with the fruit on the inside such as almonds, chesnuts, walnuts, and pecans. These fruits represent the shells which cover the roots of spirituality in everything around us. How holy and beautiful every day really could be if it would just be dedicated to G-d. By eating these shelled nuts, we attempt to extract the beautiful and meaningful even from within the hard shells. May we always appreciate every human being, even those whose holiness is most hidden. As we eat the almond, we recall that the almonds are beginning to bloom in Israel, and we are reminded of our love for Israel. As Israel comes back to life, so do we. 

(For someone who didn’t yet eat bread.)

Baruch ata Ado-nai E-lo--heinu melech ha-olam, boreh peri haetz.

Blessed are you Lord our G-d king of the universe who creates the fruit of the tree.

We eat the nuts. 

We are now ascending the spiritual ladder, like Jacob before us, to the next plain of existence, the world of formation, yetzirah. This is the world of feelings and speech. Our words and thoughts are often more perfect and ideal than our actions. This is the level on which angels live. This corresponds to the second to last letter of G-d’s holy  name, the vav, which is straight like a ladder, connecting the upper and lower worlds. We now pour some darker wine or juice into our cups to represent the spring which is right around the corner. 

Mix and drink the grape juice. Don’t make it too dark, just a bit. 

Corresponding to this world of formation. We now take fruits which have pits inside but fruit on the outside, such as papaya, apricots, and dates.  As we eat the dates, we recall that Israel was known for its date palms even in Biblical times, and we recall the tropical beauty of our promised land. 

Eat papaya, dates, and apricots.  

Continuing to climb the spiritual rungs, we move to yet a higher world, the world of creation, beriyah. This realm is not a by-product of another realm but is made from nothing, the way G-d created the world from nothing. This is the realm of the glorious throne of G-d, so close to G-d. It goes beyond action or thought to the realm of the pure idea, or intelligence. This relates to the neshama, our souls, which have an intimate connection to G-d. Here the Divine plenty is readily visible. All we need to do is bring it into our lives. Here there is a blur between the upper and lower worlds. They are all one. We are now in the realm corresponding to the first letter hey in G-d’s name, representing the hand of G-d who so to speak gives us our blessings.  We thank G-d for the plenty of this day. We now pour more dark juice into our cups to get a still darker blend, as the trees turn dark green from the warm summer sun. 

Mix and drink the grape juice. Don’t make it too dark, just a bit more than before. 

We now partake of the most perfect fruits, corresponding to the Platonic world of beriyah, such as grapes and figs. They are entirely edible and correspond to that which is even closer to the realm of the ideal. All we need to do is to bless it, incorporate it  into our holy Shabbas meal, and we can bring out its holiest potential. The Jewish people are often compared to the grape vine or the fig tree, and Israel has always been known for its wealth of figs and grapes. As we eat them we think of how wonderful the world could be if only we would use it  only for good, constructive, and holy purposes. 

Eat the grapes and figs. 

Finally, we go off into the highest plain, the world of emanation, where it all comes from. This is the realm of G-d’s plans, His blue prints. It is as close as we can get to G-d without getting to the realm of the totally incomprehensible. WE are now in the realm of the last or first letter of G-d’s name, the yod, and we have completed the Divine Name. It is beyond time. All past and present merge. We think now of the glorious days of the Land of Israel in the days of King David, we thank G-d for the Jewish possession of the land in our days, and we dream yet of the days of the Messiah, may he come soon, in which each person will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree. Here we have no fruits for all the fruits and worlds are one. We have now completed the year, it is fall again, and the leaves turn dark, represented by our darkest cup of wine. As we drink this last cup, we meditate on this highest level, and how close we can  come to G-d. We pray that we should remain on the highest level of all four worlds, all year round. 

Drink the darkest wine or juice. 

We now conclude with this prayer.

May it be your will, our G-d and G-d of our ancestors that through the eating of fruits which we have blessed, the trees in Israel will renew themselves by blossoming and growing. And may our etrogs grow beautifully for this year. May you shower down blessings on us from all the upper worlds. 

Songs

Song I: Atzei zeitim omdim (x2) La, la, la la la la la, la la la la la la la , la la la. 

Song II: (to the tune of the finjan)

Eretz chita us-ora, (clap clap) vegefen utena verimon (clap clap), eretz zeit shemen eretz zeit shemen, eretz zeit shemen udvash (clap clap )

( a land of wheat and barley, ( clap clap) and grape vines,  figs, and  pomegranates (clap clap), land of  olives, olives and dates, land of olives and dates.) 

song III: Eretz  zavat chalav, chalav udvash. (x4)

It is a land flowing with milk and honey. 

Song IV: Tu Bishvat  He- giah, chag ha-ilanot (x2), Hashkedia porachat ve-shemesh paz zorachat, tziporim merosh kol gag, mevasrot et bo hachag. Tu Bishvat.... The almond tree is growing, the sun is out and flowing, birds from every roof top, announcing the coming of the holiday. Tu Bishvat is here, the holiday of the trees… 

Song V: Lishana haba-ah biyrushalayim (x4) biyrushalayim! Next year in Jerusalem!