Tonight begins Rosh Chodesh Sh’vat, the beginning of the Hebrew lunar month. This week, we’ve been exploring the history behind the month and the questions it poses for the modern Jew. With its celebration of Tu b’Sh’vat (ט"ו בשבט), the Jewish New Year for Trees, the month of Sh’vat brings an increased awareness of our responsibility – achrayut – for the earth. Achrayut may come from the Hebrew word for other – acher – or the Hebrew word for after – achar. In either case, fulfilling our role as caretakers of the earth represents an act of achraiyut, preserving the wonders of creation to share with others in the present and in perpetuity. In our Center for Youth Engagement, families learn about achrayut through discovering many ways they may exercise care for the earth, through weeding and planting our Peah garden (the garden located near our parking garage), through lessons on curbing food and water waste, through pickling and jamming to avoid wasting fruits and vegetables, and [...]

This coming Thursday is Rosh Chodesh Sh’vat, the beginning of the Hebrew lunar month. This week, we’ll explore the history behind the month and the questions it poses for the modern Jew. The month of Sh’vat is perhaps best known for the celebration of Tu b’Sh’vat (ט"ו בשבט), the Jewish New Year for trees, which falls upon the fifteenth of Sh’vat. The first mention of this New Year occurs in the Mishnah, a compilation of first and second Century rabbinic teachings about normative Jewish life in antiquity. The Mishnah describes four new years, including the New Year for trees, celebrated on the 15th of Sh’vat, in accordance with the teachings of Hilliel. However, the Mishnah adds that the school of Shammai celebrated the New Year for trees on the first of Sh’vat. This disagreement caused some consternation for the early rabbis, who typically observed the teachings of Hillel but were allowed to follow the teachings of Shammai, [...]

This coming Thursday is Rosh Chodesh Sh’vat, the beginning of the Hebrew lunar month. This week, we’ll explore the history behind the month and the questions it poses for the modern Jew. Though the etymology of the Hebrew month Sh’vat almost certainly comes from its Assyro-Babylonian antecedent, the Hebrew root for sh’vat, shin-bet-tet (שבט), represents the basis for several Hebrew words with an array of meanings. In the Bible, שבט refers to a rod or staff used as a weapon, as an instrument for counting and shepherding (most famously in Psalm 23), and as a symbol of authority or prestige. It’s also used on many occasions to refer to the 12 tribes of Israel. How does the same word come to symbolize violence, caretaking, power, and identity all at once? It’s all in how we use the tools at our disposal. A rod or staff may be used for all these things. It can be [...]

This coming Thursday is Rosh Chodesh Sh’vat, the beginning of the Hebrew lunar month. This week, we’ll explore the history behind the month and the questions it poses for the modern Jew. We discover the first recorded mention of the month of Sh’vat in the post-exilic Book of Zechariah, as the prophet identifies the date of his first revelation during the reign of the Persian monarch, Darius. However, scholars suggest that the name for the month, like the rest of the Hebrew calendar, is borrowed from the eleventh month in the Assyro-Babylonian calendar, Araḫ Šabaṭu. Sabatu means “the destroying one,” which refers to the furious rains that reached their highest pitch during this month. The month was also closely associated with the god of rain, and later, the astrological sign of Aquarius. According to the medieval scholar, Rashi, though the month represents the peak of the rain season in Babylon, it [...]