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Plant Israel at Home TU B SHEVAT SEDER CONDENSED Tu B Shevat is the New Year of the trees On this holiday we celebrate the connection between the Nation of Israel and the Land of Israel The Tu B Shevat Seder is a special ritual designed to help us focus on the bounty of the land from which our ancestors sprung For this Seder you will need 1 Fruits of the Land of Israel separated into platters Figs Olives Dates Wheat Product Cookies cake crackers or our delicious bread recipe Pomegranate seeds Orange Cherry Tomatoes Carob Grapes or Raisins Almonds 2 Israeli wine or grape juice both red and white 3 Plates and cups As we proceed through the seder we will focus on each fruit and drink for cups of wine or grape juice and the blessings that come with each one First Cup Historical Connection and Exile As we make our first blessings we remember that it was in the Land of Israel where we became a nation and from the Land of Israel that we were cast away from our home For 2000 years the Nation of Israel remembered the Land and yearned to return Fig Teenah The first fruit we taste today is one of the oldest fruits of the land Hold up figs for everyone to see Symbolic of Netzach eternity endurance and longevity the fig is believed by some to be the national tree of Israel It reflects the everlasting fruitfulness of the Jewish people and our capacity to endure and survive in spite of every hardship Together we say the blessing for the fruit of the trees of Israel and taste of their sweetness 1 Israel Forever Foundation www israelforever org

Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech HaOlam Borei Pri HaEtz Blessed art Thou Lord of the Universe who creates the fruit of the tree Enjoy a fig After the arid hot summer Israel is covered in the dust that has settled on the dried grains of the fields As the first rains come and the branches begin to lose their leaves the first flower indicating the fall the chatzav arrives along with other light colored wildflowers This first cup of wine that we drink is therefore white to symbolize the spectrum of soft shades that embrace the land at the arrival of fall and to remind us of the simplicity of our bond with Israel as the origin of our people Recite the blessing for the wine Borei Pri HaGefen Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech HaOlam Borei Pri HaGefen Blessed art Thou Lord of the Universe who creates the fruit of the vine L Chaim Drink from first cup Second Cup Memory and Commitment The Jewish People are like the olive tree it withstands all seasons never loses all of its leaves and can grow even in poor conditions The olive tree can live for thousands of years regenerate after a fire drawing strength from within and outlasting others Olive Zayit As we eat of these olives as our second fruit we remember the olive branch brought to Noah after the flood the olive oil used in the Temple ceremonies the miracle of the oil found by the Maccabees and the symbol of our eternal hope for a return to Zion and live in peace B teavon Eat the olives In the midst of Israel s rainy season the landscape slowly begins to come alive Although it is still winter in Israel the first blossoms of the almond tree begin to bud on the branches awaiting the warmth of the spring sun and the annual renewal of life The slow emergence of the blossoms reminds us of the patience with which we awaited our return from exile clinging to the memory of Zion Our senses come alive with the awakening of the new season and so we add a touch of red wine or grape juice to our cup of white to symbolize the awakening of our people to the potential fulfillment of our ancient dream to return home to our land L Chaim Drink from second cup 2 Israel Forever Foundation www israelforever org

Third Cup Return Our people are the only indigenous nation in the history of humankind who has succeeded in returning to our ancestral homeland after 2000 years of exile Regaining Jewish freedom and sovereignty is among the greatest miracles the world has ever witnessed As we partake of our third fruit of Israel we think of the years when we began to again taste the freedom of having come home Date Tamar We eat dates to celebrate the sweetness of this reunification borne of trees that grow in the ancient sands of our homeland A fruit that is mentioned in the stories of Moses David and Tamar whose branches provided food shelter and sustenance for our people for so many years and was the recognized symbol of the Kingdom of Judea B teavon Eat the dates Our third cup of wine is two thirds red and one third white It symbolizes spring overtaking the winter and the rush of new colors in the landscape Fields of Calaniot poppies cascade over the rolling hills The white bare winter is giving way to new season just as the chalutzim pioneers brought new color new life to the land With this cup we awaken ourselves to the significance of Israel in our own lives even if we are far away this is the time to search for a new connection a deeper appreciation of our ancestral homeland and the miracle of the Jewish State reborn L Chaim Drink from third cup Fourth Cup Planting Seeds Today for Future Generations For much of our history we were uprooted and denied return to our Land Today we are free to live in Israel or visit as we please This is a miraculous achievement one we must nurture and protect for the generations to come For our last blessings we relish in a collection of tastes of Israel that reflect the new fruits of the land as well as the old reminding us of the ancient and still developing love story between the Nation of Israel and the Land of Israel Wheat Chita Images of wheat stalks decorate the stories of our past Murals mosaics and elaborate tales invoke appreciation for the grains that nourish both our physical bodies and our spiritual aspirations It must be planted plowed harvested cared for winnowed ground sifted kneaded and baked a long and difficult process Similarly when we are far away from the land our connection to Israel needs to be nurtured throughout our lives Pomegranate Rimon The pomegranate grows throughout Israel her red flowers marking the arrival of spring and her fruits ripening just in time for Rosh Hashanah It is believed that every Rimon has 613 seeds symbolic of the 613 mitzvot This vibrant fruit is a symbol of the unbreakable bond between the Jewish People and the Jewish Land 3 Israel Forever Foundation www israelforever org

Citrus Peyrot Hadar Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Israel s first settlers by the late 1920s oranges were the most recognized citrus fruit cultivated from the Land of Israel exported throughout the world By the 1960s the Jaffa Orange was one of the agricultural emblems of the Jewish State As we eat of Israel s citrus let us remember those who dreamt of the sun drenched land of Zion and those who returned to make her flourish Cherry Tomato Agvaniyot Sherry Israeli professors perfected the cherry tomato This is but one of Israel s many agricultural innovations that have made the world a delicious place Let us eat with pleasure knowing that the goodness of our Land and innovation of our People benefits the world Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech HaOlam Borei Pri HaAdama Blessed art Thou Lord of the Universe who creates the fruit of the ground Carob Charuv In the Talmudic story of Honi the Wise Honi was walking one day and saw a man planting a carob tree Honi asked How long will it take for that tree to grow The man replied Seventy years How do you know that you will live another seventy years asked Honi I don t replied the man But just as my grandparents and parents planted for me I am planting this tree for the generations to come Almond Shaked As the last fruit of trees from which we eat it is fitting that we should taste of the almond that is the symbol of Tu B Shevat Bursting into bloom while other trees are still bare and asleep the almond whose name Shaked means diligent reminds us of our obligation to be forever mindful of Israel in our lives and that of our children and our children s children The fourth and last cup we drink is entirely red As we again reach the autumn season with their roots buried safely in the ground the trees of Israel are already preparing for the next cycle of nature As the flavor of the grapes touches our lips we complete the process of awakening and celebrate the privilege of living at a time when we can honor both the ancient and the modern trees of Israel Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech HaOlam Shechiyanu V Kimanu V Higiyanu L zman Hazeh Blessed art Thou Lord of the Universe who granted us life sustained us and allowed us to reach this time L Chaim Drink fourth cup 4 Israel Forever Foundation www israelforever org