Women in the Jewish community will once again celebrate the new year of the trees with a Tu b’Shevat seder on Sunday, Jan. 23. (The holiday itself is Jan. 20) The event will be held at the Jewish Community Campus and it is being jointly sponsored by Jewish Federation Women’s Division Yad B’yad and Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing! A Learning for Life Program.
This is the second time the two organizations have collaborated on this event. Beverly Jacobson, Women’s division director, said the reason the committee decided to do Tu b’Shevat again is because it was “so well attended and enjoyed by so many women and young girls the last time.”
In fact almost 200 girls and women attended the first seder in 2009.
“This year we are hoping to achieve the same level of satisfaction,” Jacobson said. “The different speakers achieve a different focus.”
The span of women through the ages is “one of the coolest things” about this seder, according to Samantha Feinberg, the Learning for Life associate who is helping plan the event.
“Last time we saw girls as young as 12 and, I believe, there were women in their 80s there as well,” Feinberg said.
Karen Gerson, CAJE’s director of Informal Education, said another great thing about the event was that “it was intergenerational by more than just two generations.”
Like last time, activities are being created to help the generations interact.
“Some of the activities are created for the younger age group to collaborate with the older age group. Some of the activities give the older age group the opportunity to share their experiences and traditions with the younger generation,” Gerson said.
Again, like last time, Feinberg said the committee will take care in seating people so that there will be a nice mix of women at the tables.
“People were comfortably seated with people they already knew and there was an opportunity to meet new people as well,” Feinberg said.
Feinberg, who works with girls in the Rosh Hodesh program, is looking forward to the event, noting that it’s a nice way to get girls and their mothers together.
But the event also lets the girls gain insight to the larger community of Jewish women.
“In Rosh Hodesh there’s ritual and camaraderie and it’s nice to see that the learning doesn’t stop when you’re out of school. It’s good for them to see that women of all ages can come together and celebrate being women and celebrate Judaism for the rest of their lives,” Feinberg said.
The seder itself
Feinberg explained that a Tu b’Shevat seder is like a Passover seder in many ways, including the fact that there’s order to the ceremony.
“But there’s also sharing and the chance for individual expression of the rituals,” she said.
Just like at Passover, there are four glasses of wine drunk during the seder. At the Tu b’Shevat seder, however, the color of the wine in each glass is varied. The cups of wine symbolize the various seasons.
It is also popular to commemorate Tu b’Shevat by eating foods that can be found in Israel — such as olives, figs, grapes, honey, carob fruit and pomegranates. Some of these foods are mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8, which describes Israel as “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey.” In addition to the holiday fare, participants at this seder will also be treated to an assortment of sweets.
The theme of this seder is “Nourish the World Nourish Ourselves.”
“In keeping with the ‘new year of the trees theme,’ ” Feinberg said, “the seder will focus on the many ways we nourish the environment, the community and ourselves.”
Jacobson points out that once again they are aiming toward a “green seder, with eating utensils that decompose and the emphasis on growing plants.”
Along those lines organizers are also asking participants to help others by bringing apples, oranges, pears or dried fruit to the seder. The produce will be donated to Yachad: The Kosher Food Pantry. There will also be an opportunity to purchase trees to be planted in Israel at the event.
A hagaddah has been written for the service, and all the speakers and activities are new this year. Community educator Edna Levy will facilitate the seder. Others participating in the seder activities include Lilach Nissim, the Federation’s Israeli shaliach, who will present a d’var Torah; Gayla Brockman, executive director of the Menorah Legacy Foundation; Jane Sosland; Anne Jacobs and Judy Jacks Berman.
The event will last about two hours. Reservations will be accepted through Jan. 18. For more information about costs or to make a reservation, contact Nicole at (913) 327-8111 or visit www.jewishkansascity.com. A discount reservation is available for girls age 12 through college age and for women 70-plus.