A Parent's Guide

Tu B'Shevat

Chag Sameach!!! (Happy Holiday). Please enjoy this booklet to use at home with your child. We hope that you will share in the learning that takes place at the Tucson JCC. This booklet is intended to expand your knowledge on the Jewish holiday, Tu B'Shevat, and to give you some great ideas for fun activities that will help you reinforce the holiday at home. Enjoy!

Significance

Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month ofShevat, is a holiday also known as the New Year for Trees. The word "Tu" is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July "Iv July" (IV being 4 in Roman numerals).

Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. The fruit from trees may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is forG-d, and after that, you can eat the fruit.

When you come to the land and you plant any tree, you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years it will be forbidden and not eaten. In the fourth year, all of its fruit shall be sanctified to praise the L-RD. In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit.-Leviticus 19:23-25

Observances

There are few customs or observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day, or to eat from the Seven Species (shivat haminim) described in the Bible as being abundant in the land ofIsrael. The Shivat Haminim are: wheat, barley, grapes (vines), figs, pomegranates, olives and dates (honey) (Deut. 8:8).

Some people plant trees on this day. Jewish children commonly go around collecting money toplant trees in Israelat this time of year, as well.

In the 16th century,kabbalists, developed a seder ritual conceptually similar to thePesach (Passover)seder, discussing the spiritual significance of fruits and of the shivat haminim. This custom spread primarily inSephardiccommunities, but in recent years it has been getting more attention amongAshkenazim.

Trees
by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet Earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at G-d all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only G-d can make a tree

Tu B'Shevat Almond Shake Recipe

1 1/2 C. cold unsweetened soy milk or milk
1 T. almond butter
2 drops vanilla extract
5 dates
2 T. raisins
1 T. carob powder
5 ice cubes

Blend almond butter and milk to make a nice thick creamy shake. Add dates, raisins, vanilla, carob powder, and ice.

Tu B'Shevat Crafts

Butterfly Snack Packs

Button Trees

Handprint Tree

Tree Crown

Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder

Milk Carton Bird House

Tu B'Shevat Songs

Tucson Jewish Community Center ● 520-299-3000 ● 1

The Tree Song

We grow, we grow we grow.
We grow, we grow we grow.

Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu
Tu Tu
Tu Tu...Tu'B'shvat...Tree, Tree, Tree, Tree, Tree.....Tu'B'shvat

I've got a friend

Who comforts me
I'm a kid
And he's a tree!

We grow, we grow we grow.
We grow, we grow we grow.

Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu

Tu Tu

Tu Tu...Tu'B'shvat...

Tree, Tree, Tree, Tree, Tree.....Tu'B'shvat

On my birthday
We eat a lot.
On her birthday

It's Tu B'shvat!

We grow, we grow we grow.
We grow, we grow we grow.

Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu
Tu Tu
Tu Tu...Tu'B'shvat...

Tree, Tree, Tree, Tree, Tree.....Tu'B'shvat

The Garden Song

Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row, Someone bless the seeds I sow.
Someone warm them from below, 'til the rain comes tumbling down.
Pulling weeds and picking stones, man is made of dreams and bones.
Feel the need to grow my own 'cause the time is close at hand.
Grain for grain, sun and rain, find my way in nature's chain,
to my body and my brain to the music from the land.
Plant your rows straight and long, thicker than with prayer and song.
Mother Earth will make you strong if you give her love and care.
Old crow watching hungrily, from his perch in yonder tree.
In my garden I'm as free as that feathered thief up there.
Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row, Someone bless the seeds I sow.
Someone warm them from below, 'til the rain comes tumbling down.

Plant a Tree for Tu B'shvat

Let’s dig a hole;
Let’s dig a hole and plant a seed.
Let’s water it, oh, let’s water it
‘Cause it is Tu B’Shevat.

Look at the sprouts;
Look at the sprouts, they’re coming up.
Let’s water them, oh, let’s water them
‘Cause it is Tu B’Shevat.

Trees are blowing in the wind, |
They’re blowing; |CHORUS(2X)
Trees are blowing in the wind. |

Look at the leaves;
Look at the leaves, they’re growing now.
Let’s water them, oh, let’s water them
‘Cause it is Tu B’Shevat.

Look at the trunk;
The trunk is so much bigger now.
Let’s water it, oh, let’s water it
‘Cause it is Tu B’Shevat.

Look at the tree;
The tree is so much taller now.
Let’s water it, oh, let’s water it
‘Cause it is Tu B’Shevat.

CHORUS(2X)

Just look at me;
Just look at me, I’m taller now.
Don’t water me, please don’t water me
‘Cause it is Tu B’Shevat.

Eitz Chayim Hi

Etz chayim hi lamachazikim ba,
Vetomecheha me'ushar.

It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it,
and all of its supporters are happy

Tucson Jewish Community Center ● 520-299-3000 ● 1