The fifteenth of Shvat, or Tu B’Shevat, is a holiday that focuses on trees; for the Kabbalists the tree stood for the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, and for the Tree of Sefirot (divine emanations, each one a different aspect of Hashem).

Kabbalists in the community of mystics in Safed began to observe a Tu B'Shevat seder in the sixteenth century. The Kabbalists taught that it is on the New Year of trees that The Tree of Life/ Sefirot renews the flow of the life and divine energy to the world. They felt that it was the responsibility of those who grasped the mystical knowledge to help this process, which they could do by eating different kinds of fruit and saying blessings and relevant verses over the fruit to free the divine sparks hidden within them.

Shayna Naveh will be leading a Tu B'Shevat seder again this year. If you attended last year, you know how special this event is. 

RSVP is mandatory.