It is a particular delight of the Diaspora that the largest winter storm to hit Ontario this year comes on Erev Tu Bishvat. Today marks Tu Bishvat, “The New Year of the Trees.” While our trees are all covered in snow, the trees in the land of Israel are beginning to bloom, marking the advent of spring with the flowers of the almond tree.
Especially in the midst of winter, it can feel like we are fighting a battle with nature – fighting against the snow, the ice, the cold to be able to live our lives, get to school, go to work. I recently read Robin Wall Kimmerer’s latest book, The Serviceberry, in which she draws on indigenous wisdom of gift economies to understand a different way we humans can relate to the natural world. “In a gift economy, wealth is understood as having enough to share, and the practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away. In fact, status is determined not by how much one accumulates, but by how much one gives away. The currency in a gift economy is relationship, which is expressed as gratitude, as interdependence and the ongoing cycles of reciprocity. A gift economy nurtures the community bonds that enhance mutual well-being; the economic unit is “we” rather than “I,” as all flourishing is mutual.” Trees channel their abundance of energy into berries and fruits for animals, us included, to eat and enjoy. Rather than an exploitative relationship between humans and natural resources (as depicted in that Tu Bishvat classic children’s book, The Giving Tree), Kimmerer reminds us that all flourishing is mutual. Tu Bishvat reminds us that we do not need to battle against nature, but instead, we can express gratitude for its abundance. As Jews, our Jewish language of gratitude is the language of blessing, of recognizing that it is not by accident, and not only by our own actions (driving to the store, picking out a bag of apples) that this precious fruit has ended up on our plate. Instead, it is thanks to a delicate symphony between the Divine and creation.
I hope you are staying safe and warm, and may the fruits that you enjoy on this Tu Bishvat bring a taste of gratitude and a taste of spring.
