Tu B'Shvat and Tikkun Olam

Many contemporary Jews look on Tu B'Shvat (February 12-13 this year) as a Jewish ‘Earth Day,’ and use Tu B'Shvat seders as occasions to discuss how Jewish values can be applied to reduce many of today's environmental threats.

While Judaism teaches that "The Earth is the Lord’s" (Psalms 24:1), and that we are to be partners with God in preserving the environment, there are daily news reports about global warming, water shortages, air and water pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, and soil erosion and depletion. Tu B'Shvat is the New Year for Trees, the date on which the fate of trees is decided for the coming year. Hence, it is an ideal time to consider the rapid destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats. While Israel has made remarkable progress in many areas, it faces chronic droughts, very badly polluted rivers, severe air pollution in its major cities and industrial areas, rapidly declining open space, congested roads, and an inadequate mass transit system.

In view of the above and much more, I urge Jews to use Tu B’Shvat and activities related to this increasingly important holiday as occasions to start to make tikkun olam, the repair and healing of the planet, a central focus in Jewish life today. Tu B’Shvat can be a great opportunity for education about environmental crises locally, nationally, and internationally, with perhaps a special emphasis in some congregations on environmental problems in Israel. It also could help energize our congregations and bring many Jews back to greater Jewish involvement.