Tu B'shvat

 
On Sunday, February 7 the Worship Committee will present a service that celebrates the ancient Jewish festival of TU B’SHVAT, the birthday of the trees.   In the sixteenth century Jewish mystics, the Kabbalists, saw this festival not only as commemorating the beginning of a new cycle of growth for the trees, but also as a time to consider the human journey from outer personalities and physicalities to the seed of the soul.  And in the twentieth century, with the rise of the environmental movement, the festival has been adopted by progressive Jewish communities as a time to consider the environmental importance of trees.
 
“Tu B'Shvat is a celebration of the renewal of vision and awareness, a celebration of connections and connectedness—to our own inner selves, to the social world of human beings, and to the natural world and its Source.”
 
This service will include the sharing of a ritual meal comprised of four glasses of grape juice, as well as a series of fruits and nuts, each representing a segment of the journey from the outer physical to the inner spiritual.
 
We look forward to sharing this touching, beauty-full morning of worship.
            For the Worship Committee,
            Barbara Harlow:  784-5211 / bds1222@hotmail.com