As our seder comes to a close, take a moment to reflect on the journey we have taken together. Our holidays are specific markers in time that galvanize us to be mindful of who we are and who we aspire to become. Credits:  Editors and Designers, 2021 Edition: Rabbi Josh Ratner, Rachel Miller, Hannah Henza, Rabbi Nate DeGroot , David Rendsburg, and Hannah Elovitz. Special thanks to Hazon staff, and volunteers, who have guided the creation of this haggadah over the...

Meditation practice for Atzilut As we conclude the important yet difficult conversations we have undertaken during this Seder, it may be helpful to take a few minutes for yourself to process and reflect. In place of physical nourishment for this fourth cup, we therefore offer you the following meditation practice.   Find yourself in a comfortable, upright, seated position. Begin to sit how you’d like to feel. Feel both feet flat on the ground and feel grounded. Do you want to feel...

The Kabbalists defined the world of Atzilut as the world of pure spirit, so its symbolic food is no food at all, only what sustains us spiritually. We all have relationships with both the physical and the intangible. The fourth world is about our highest selves, when we are not eating, when we are not thinking of our bodies, when we have all the tools to bring in pure holiness in each moment. To be sure, we can be holy while...

Our final cup of wine is fully red. For the Kabbalists, this cup represents the highest level of creation; the red flame completely overpowers the white light of the beginning. Our tree is in her full autumnal glory. This deep red wine is the citrus whose fruits are now ripe, the etrog whose fragrance we enjoy in the fall, and the melon whose fruit is full of flavor in the summer. The cup of red wine symbolizes the source of our...

For the Kabbalists Briyah is closest to the pure spirit of the three lower worlds. It is represented by any fruits that are edible throughout. Here no protective shells, neither internal nor external, are needed. These symbolic fruits may be eaten entirely and include: blackberries, blueberries, figs, grapes, kiwis, kumquats, raspberries, star fruit, and strawberries. Like these fruits, the climate crisis can be addressed directly and without hesitation. While climate change can be cause for despair, it also can galvanize us...

This cup of wine is partly white and mostly red. In the heat of summer our tree has rooted herself firmly in the earth, grown into its full being and is blooming. The shade, wood, herbs and flowers that are her simple and modest gifts to the earth and humankind allow us to now see her and embrace her as a provider. We each add more red wine to the mixture of wine that is already in our cup, so that...

The Kabbalists defined the world of Yetzirah as a world of inwardness, emotion, and a sense of feeling. The need for protection and reinforcement is an inner matter of the core, of the heart. It is represented by fruits with edible outer flesh and pithy, inedible cores: apricots, avocados, cherries, dates, mangos, olives, peaches, and plums. While we endured so much communal fragmentation and hatred this past year, we also experienced new moments of profound connection and solidarity, from spontaneous rooftop...

The second cup of wine is a mixture of white and red. For the kabbalists, the white represented the spark of Divine holiness; the red, the flame of life which has begun to burn within that spark. The red can also symbolize a tree’s growth as she is nourished in the spring. Beginning as a small sapling, she starts to gain her physical and spiritual strength from the four basic elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Her small trunk reaches toward...

For the Kabbalists, the first cup was the world of Assiyah- the realm of the concrete, the physical. It’s about protection, about shields and defenses. By removing the outer shell, we enable ourselves to open up to those around us and to enjoy the sweetness inside. We, too, have erected countless defenses to protect ourselves from COVID-19 over the past year. May we be blessed this Tu B’Shvat, and throughout the coming year, to taste the sweetness of health and the...

We begin our Tu B’Shvat seder by considering our own personal relationships with the physical world. For more than twenty centuries, Jewish tradition has revered land and place; whether we are turning to face Jerusalem when we pray, expressing a desire to return to the Promised Land, or sharing a meal in a sukkah. This past year has brought a new, confusing, and often isolating understanding of place. Covid-19 has brought with it quarantines and social distancing, Zoom religious services and...

When developing the first Tu B’Shvat seder, the kabbalists of Tzfat correlated each of the four sections with one of the four mystical worlds. To you, these concepts might be spiritually meaningful or completely unintelligible. We have chosen to include the kabbalistic four worlds in relation to the four sections of our haggadah both to link this Haggadah to that of our ancestors and to provide an opportunity to delve into four specific themes we hope to explore with you: the...

How did an arcane tax day for agrarian tithing become a festive birthday of the trees? The history of Tu B’Shvat reveals how  this malleable holiday has been adapted by Jewish tradition in different eras for different purposes. Tu B’Shvat first appears in Jewish literature in the Mishnah, where it is mentioned (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1) in a list of four separate new year’s festivals as the new year for the trees, to take place on the fifteenth day of the...

Tu B’Shvat falls as the first Jewish holiday of the year. It offers a profound, liminal moment for us to look back on the pain, trauma, and chaos of the past few years while simultaneously looking forward towards our hopes and aspirations for what a new year might become. The traditional “birthday of the trees,” which has been re-interpreted countless times throughout Jewish history, offers us a powerful frame for exploring our connection to our homes, our communities, the environment, and...

Red and white wine or juice •   Enough for each person to have two full glasses of wine (or juice) throughout the meal, one red and one white. Fruits from trees for each level •    The first cup: inedible outer shell and an edible inner core, such as almonds, bananas, coconuts, durians, citrus fruits, papayas, passion fruit, pecan, pineapples, pistachios, pomegranates, pomelos, sabras, and many more. •    The second cup: edible outer flesh and pithy, inedible cores such as, apricots, avocados,...