Rosh Chodesh Shevat

Today marks the first day of the eleventh month of the Jewish year, Shevat. It's a month marked by Tu B'Shevat, the fifteenth day. Once a tax deadline of sorts--in which fruit trees were pronounced a year older--Tu B'Shevat has evolved into an early marker for spring. Trees are purchased for planting in Israel at this time of year, and Jews in the Diaspora (that's any Jew living outside of Israel, to you) have used this holiday to highlight environmental concerns in their adopted homelands.

The lovely site ritualwell suggests that we celebrate the turning of the month and prepare for the "birthday of trees" with a fragrance seder, since scent represents the spirit in Jewish mysticism.

(um, doesn't pretty much everything represent the spirit in Jewish mysticism?)

Tu B'Shevat is an appealing holiday for youngsters, so JCCs all over America gear up to help their preschoolers celebrate. There's usually a little seed-planting project or a community garden in the works, plus a kiddie seder. It's very touching to have your little one come home bearing a seedling in its comfy little Dixie cup.

The Biblical significance of the month of Shevat is mainly concerned with Moshe (Moses) imparting the wisdom of Torah to the people. It is traditionally observed that Moshe was offering the Jews the fifth and final book of the Pentateuch, also known as The Old Testament. This book, Deuteronomy, contains the long list of mitzvot (good deeds) and other instructions for conducting a good life.

Though it's customary to eat 15 different fruits to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, there are actually only 7 named in the Bible, and all 7 grow in Israel, as described in the Torah: "...a land of WHEAT and BARLEY and (GRAPE) VINES and FIG trees and POMEGRANATES, a land of OLIVE trees and (DATE) honey," according to Torah Tots.

There are plenty of different rationales for picking (excuse the pun) your additional 8 fruits, but I'm like, how much more fruit can a person eat before the seder table becomes unbearable to others?

An avocado is a fruit, and so's a lemon, and a lime. So's a tomato, last I checked. Meaning if you make guacamole the way I do, right there you've taken care of four fruits.

Beans being the magical fruit, that'd make five. Add sangria--I mean, you need wine anyway--and you're more than done.

So it stands to reason that a Tex-Mex seder might be the way to go.

Or not.

Depends if you want them to speak to you again at Judaism 101.

(They already don't speak to me)

[photo via JCC Association's "This New Month" site]