Tu BiSh’vat Seder
February 1 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Celebrate Tu BiSh’vat, the Jewish “New Year for Trees,” with a meaningful evening honoring nature and spiritual growth. Cantor Rhodes will lead a Tu BiSh’vat Seder followed by a vegetarian potluck dinner and an opportunity to hear from guest speaker Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
6:00 to 6:30: 30-minute Seder led by Cantor Rhodes
Tu B’Shvat is the Jewish “New Year for Trees.” This holiday celebrates nature’s beauty, calls us to our responsibility to care for the earth, and open the journey into our own spiritual growth. During the seder, we eat symbolic fruits and nuts, each representing aspects of the natural and spiritual world: fruits with inedible peels (protection and physicality), fruits with edible peels (balance of inner and outer worlds), nuts (spiritual potential), and dried fruits (wisdom and life’s cycles). We offer blessings of gratitude for the earth’s abundance, reflecting on our connection to creation and our duty to nurture it. As we share this meal, we renew our appreciation for nature’s gifts and commit to planting seeds of kindness, growth, and environmental stewardship.
6:30 to 7:00: Potluck dinner
Attendees are asked to bring a vegetarian side dish or dessert, according to the first letter of the attendee’s last name. (A-P bring side dish; Q-Z bring dessert)
7:00 to 7:30: Guest speaker, Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Tidwell is a journalist, author, and climate activist living in Takoma Park, MD. His most recent book is an exploration of global warming’s impact in his own front yard, called The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A story of Climate and Hope on One American Street (St. Martin’s Press, March 2025).