Talk with Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan and Rachel Biale, co-sponsored with New Lehrhaus. Tu BiShvat (the 15th of the month of Shvat) appears in the Talmud as one of four new years in the calendar, dedicated to trees. It fits the climate in Israel (and Northern California!): the almond trees bloom, blanketing orchards in “a white dress.” The 16th century Safed Kabbalist Isaac Luria instituted a Tu BiShvat Seder and the Zionist movement’s Jewish National Fund (remember that little blue JNF box?) and kibbutz movements made planting trees in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) central activities. We will learn about the mystical meaning of the holiday and hear about tree planting as a formative experience of a childhood (Rachel) and an emerging young adult (Peretz) on kibbutzim, and explore how a minor agricultural task become the symbol of Jewish Spiritual and National revival. For more information and to register, click here.