New Year For the Trees

Though it's the middle of winter to us, February 3rd happens to be Tu B'shvat, the Jewish New Year for the Trees. In elementary school, this meant bringing home a scrawny little seedling and having a child in Israel plant a tree for you--now that we're a little more grown up, the holiday can be a time to think of our relationship to nature and celebrate a Jewish holiday that doesn't have to do with escaping persecution.

Torat Ha'Teva, Toronto's growing Eco-Jewish community is having a Tu B'shvat seder (like a Passover seder, that means an event held around a table, consuming certain foods in a certain order, talking and learning all the way through). Come out on February 3rd, at 8:30 pm, to the MInsk Shul at 10 Andrew Street in Kensington Market, for organic fruit, a drumming circle, a little bit of kabbalah, a raffle, and a celebration of trees! The event is $10, $5 for students.

Image created by Anna Stevenson for an unrelated Tu B'shvat seder happening in New York City.