 | Honi the
Circle Maker
| | | The Talmud Bavli Tractate Ta'anit page 23a tells the story of the sage Honi the Circle Maker, who could summon the rains to come within a circle he would draw on the ground.
He saw an old man digging in he ground and he asked what he was doing.
The old man said he was planting a carob tree.
Honi remarked, "But a carob tree takes 70 years before it yields fruit. You won't get any carobs."
The old man said, "My parents and my grandparents planted trees so that I could have fruit. I am planting trees so that my children and grandchildren should have fruit as well."
| | Blessing G!d
for Fruit
| |
Blessed are You, Lord our G!d, King of the Universe, Who creates fruit of the tree.
Ba-Ruch a-ta A-do-shem El-o-khei-nu Mel-ech ha-o-lam, bo-rei p-ree ha'etz.
| | Blessing G!d for the Holiday and Candle Lighting
| |
Blessed are You, Lord our G!d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and has commanded us to light the candles of this holiday.
Ba-ruch A-ta A-do-shem, El-o-kha-nu Mel-ech ha-o-lam, a-sher Kid-di-sha-nu ba-mitz-vo-tav, vitz-se-vah-nu, la-had-lik ner, shel yom tov.
| | Blessing G!d
for Bread
| | |
Blessed are You, Lord our G!d, Who brings forth bread from the Earth.
Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-shem, El-o-khai-nu Mel-ech ha-O-lam, ha-Mot-zi lech-em min ha-er-etz.
| | Blessing G!d
for Wine
| | |
Blessed are you Lord our G!d, King of the Universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.
Ba-Ruch A-tah A-do-shem, El-o-kha-nu Mel-eck ha-o-lam, bo-rah pe-ree ha-gah-fen.
| Click Here to Order Rabbi Arthur Segal's Books:
The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal:
A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew
A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the
Torah and Talmud
| | | | Tu B' Shevat is the Jewish New Year for Trees
A Holiday Message From Rabbi Arthur Segal's Jewish Spiritual Renewal January 2010
| | Shalom
With my co-author, Frank Dunne, Jr., his family, and my family, I wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2010. May the New Year bring us all true Shalom and Shlema beyond human comprehension!
| | Tu B' Shevat By the Numbers
On the evening of January 29 and into January 30 we will celebrate the holiday of Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for Trees, which occurs on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat.
As many of you already know, Hebrew numerals are based on Hebrew letters. For example, the Hebrew numeral for 10 is a yud, and the Hebrew numeral for 5 is a hey. When we combine the yud and the hey, we get the Hebrew word for G!d: Y!H.
Since many do not wish to take the name of G!d in vain,15 is written using the numerals for the letters for 6 and 9. This gives the Hebrew letters tet and vuv. When these two letters are pronounced we get the acronym of Tu.
So the holiday means the 15th of the month of Shevat.
(The story of Tu B' Shevat continues below...)
| | |  | | | Do You Have Trouble
Keeping New Year's Resolutions?
Maybe You Need a Little Guidance.
 My book, The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, teaches you how to transform your life into one that is happier, more peaceful, and more spiritual.
In this book, I distill the teachings of our sages and rabbis that have been passed along for thousands of years, along with lessons from the Torah and the Talmud.
But unlike other Jewish spiritual texts that you may have read, or sermons you may have heard, this book presents these lessons in a concise, easy-to-read, easy-to-follow life transformation process that you can follow step-by-step at your own pace.
You will learn:
- That "normative" Judaism as you have known it throughout your life is not really Judaism at all, why it may leave you uninspired, and how spiritual renewal will help you recapture that inspiration (Chapter 1).
- That your ego is your own worst enemy, and how to win the battle against it (Chapter 2).
- How to stop struggling for control over things you cannot control, and be happier because of it (Chapter 3).
- How spiritual renewal conquers the fears and character flaws that are holding you back in life (Chapters 4 and 5).
- To actually get rid of your character flaws forever (Chapter 6).
- How to turn negative relationships in your life positive
(Chapter 7). - How simple it is to make prayer a regular part of your days...without going back to Hebrew school (Chapter 8).
- How to find peace of mind through meditation (Chapter 9).
- How to simplify life's toughest decisions (Chapter 10).
- How spiritual renewal transforms you into the best individual you can be, and how to stay on track (Chapter 11).
- How to celebrate the Sabbath and the Jewish Holidays with meaning (Chapters 12 and 13).
- How to live with happiness, joy, and freedom every day of your life (Chapter 14).
Resolve to start your journey up the path to a happy and joyous life this year, and stay on track in the years to come.
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| | | | | The Four Faces of Tu B' Shevat
Tu B' Shevat has taken four different meanings over many millennia. At first it was a tax day for fruit from trees. In those days, the holiday was celebrated on the first of the month, not the 15th.
The Torah tells us not to eat fruit from a tree for its first three years, and to give the fruit to the Temple in the in the fourth and fifth years. Today, that would mean that we should give the fruit to those in need. To this day, many farmers in Israel obey this mitzvah.
Rabbi Hillel changed the holiday to the 15th of the month circa 100 B.C.E.
In the 16th Century, the Kabbalists of Safed, Israel changed the meaning of Tu B' Shevat again. They celebrated the holiday with a seder and a Hagaddah to bring themselves closer to nature, and hence, closer to G!d. "All trees converse with one another
and with all living creatures."
(Midrash Genesis Rabbah 13:2). The Kabbalists used fruits and nuts grown in the soil of Israel, and, similarly to a Passover Seder, there are four cups of wine.
But unlike the Passover Seder for which all four cups are red, the Kabbalistic Tu B' Shevat Seder has one white cup, one red cup, one mixture of mostly red with some white, and one mixture of mostly white with some red.
These four color patterns remind us of the four seasons and how God is continually with us throughout the year.To read more about Tu B' Shevat and how each fruit and nut is used symbolically please go to this link: RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: TU B' SHEVAT: SEDER HAGADDAH The third change for Tu B' Shevat came during the Zionist movement in Israel.
According to the Talmud, when one acquires land, the land does not change hands - regardless of what is written in the deed - until the land has been improved in some way.
One way to improve the land and establish ownership is to plant trees. Thus, planting trees became a Tu B' Shevat custom, especially for children. Unfortunately, years later in the 1960s, the Israelis discovered that trees planted in the middle winter did not survive.
So the custom of planting trees on Tu B' Shevat no longer exists among Jews or Israelis who understand environmental issues.
The present celebration of Tu B' Shevat makes it a Jewish Earth Day, a time for Jews to remind themselves that the Torah and the Talmud teach us to be stewards and caretakers of the Earth.
We are to leave the earth a better place than we found it. We have an ethical obligation to make sure that our grandchildren and great-grandchildren have a planet on which they can live with live fruit trees, as an ecological example.
(The story of Tu B' Shevat continues below
with the holiday's spiritual lessons...)
| | | | | | My New Year's Resolution for You
In my years of Rabbinic Counseling I've noticed that many modern Jews are not as familiar with the Torah and the Talmud as they might be.
They find it difficult to understand and interpret in a way that makes sense and has relevance to their lives in the modern world.
The spiritual disconnection that this causes inspired me to write a second book, A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud.
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The Talmud teaches that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to ''go and study.'' The rest is commentary.
A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud clarifies the commentary and allows one to study the Torah and the Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace.
This year, I resolve to help you understand the Torah and Talmud in a way that you never thought you could.
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| | | | | The Spiritual Lesson of Tu B' Shevat
Tu B' Shevat also contains a spiritual lesson:
What does this Torah verse mean?
"A person is like a tree of the field."
(Deut. 20:19)
Rabbi Yisrale of Chortkov explains:
"When fortune has turned for someone, and they have lost all hope and are despairing, then they should ponder a tree in winter. Its leaves have fallen, its moisture has dried up, it is almost a dead stump in the ground. Then suddenly, it begins to revive and to draw moisture from the earth. Slowly it blossoms, then brings forth fruits. People should learn from this not to despair, but to take hope and have courage, for they, too, are like a tree"
As already mentioned, Tu B' Shevat is the New Year for Trees, and is one of four Jewish new years. It is a celebration of trees' rebirth in the midst of winter. This is the Kabbalistic reawakening of divine energy with G!d as the tree of life.
Tu B' Shevat is the first Earth Day. The Talmud declares:
"If you have a sapling, and someone says that
the Messiah has come, complete the planting,
and then go welcome the Messiah."
(Avot d'Rabbi Natan)
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