Ronnie's Awesome List presents a guest article by Tanya Schevitz, Bay Area Program Manager of Reboot. Join Reboot and Save The Redwoods League at "Tu B'Shevat in the Park" in the Heroes Grove in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco on Sunday, January 28, 2018.

As we get more and more engrossed in our phones and other digital devices, we often forget to look up, to see the trees around us, to hear their rustling in the wind, to appreciate the shelter and beauty they provide.

The Jewish tradition provides a holiday, Tu B’Shevat, the birthday of the trees, where we are asked to pause to appreciate the trees. Originally marked as a counting of the ages of trees for the purpose of taxation, it has evolved into a holiday where trees are planted and the fruits and nuts of the trees are eaten in appreciation of their bounty.

Tu B’Shevat, which falls January 30-31 this year, is often overlooked just as we overlook the trees day to day. But it is a day that everyone should mark, no matter your background. It is a day that is increasingly vital as more and more trees are being cut down and others are dying from drought brought on by climate change.

It has evolved into a holiday of action. We invite you to take this time to celebrate the trees and the work we must do to keep our planet green and healthy for generations to come.

What is your memory of a favorite tree? We have to make sure the next generation has a memory to share. Find yours in the events below:

Join Reboot and Save the Redwoods League for a celebration of Tu B'Shevat in Golden Gate Park
Heroes Grove (between JFK Drive and Fulton near Park Presidio Blvd.)
Jan. 28, 2018
2 - 4:15 p.m.

Free. Everyone welcome.

Tu B’Shevat is our day to celebrate the trees and the work we must do to keep our planet green and healthy for generations to come. Tu B'Shevat in the Park will reimagine the Tu B'Shevat ritual and inspire us to renew our community effort to plant trees for the future.

We literally plant trees for our future. Celebrating its 100th year, Save the Redwoods League remains revolutionary by not only preserving ancient redwood forests, but also restoring forests that have been cut down. Tu B'Shevat in the Park will Reboot the Tu B'Shevat ritual---with great music and activities—and celebrate the work of Save the Redwoods League and Reboot and anyone who is committed to healing our planet. The free event, open to the public, will feature live music from Paula Frazer, Zach Rogue, Geographer, creation of a human tree and a “Tea with a Tree” ceremony in the Redwood grove.

Tu'Bishvat Celebration of the Trees
Jan. 27, 2018
10:30 am - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Bay Area Discovery Museum • Fort Baker, 557 McReynolds Rd • Sausalito, CA 94965
Hosted by: Makor Marin

Celebrate the Birthday of the Trees with an ecological birthday party and tree-hugging activities. Everyone will receive admission to the Discovery Museum and may stay to explore after our event.
Free: please RSVP early to Elana at Elana@makormarin.org

Tu B’Shevat Camp Festival with Eden Village West
Admission is free. Pre-registration is required.
Feb. 4, 2018Sausalito, CA 94965
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Eden Village West and Urban Adamah are teaming to give you a special Tu B’Shevat Camp Festival! Get dirty on the farm, learn how to make fire-by-friction, blend up a magical creation on our bike blender, craft your own felt kippah, bake homemade pita bread, and more! There will also be a short camp presentation followed by a community song session!

Tu B’Shevat with Family Connections of the Marin JCC Preschool
Jan. 28, 2018
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
JCC Preschool Tiburon, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon

Connect with other families with young children! Learn about the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat and its traditions through music, art, cooking and parent education. Come nosh and schmooze with new friends!  All Family Connections events are free for families with children
birth to 3 years of age. Siblings and extended family are welcome.

Tu B’Shvat Concert and Fun! Featuring Alison Faith Levy
Jan. 28, 2018
3:30 – 5 p.m.Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills

Free and open to all. Come hear Alison Faith Levy, a wonderful performer and song leader of Jewish children's music, in a free family concert celebrating nature and Tu Bishvat. Tu Bishvat is the Holiday of Trees and celebrates our natural world. After the concert we will have fun with dirt and planting, make some crafts and enjoy fruity snacks. Learn more about Tu Bishvat and enjoy socializing with other young Jewish families.

Jewish Baby Network is joining with PJ Library and Congregations Beth Am and Kol Emeth to bring this event to the community!

Tu B'shvat Moving Meditation with Dove Govrin
Jan. 28, 2018
10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Congregation Kol Shofar • 215 Blackfield Dr • Tiburon, CA 94920

Carl Jung has said "I am firmly committed to the idea that human existence should be rooted in the earth." In this workshop we will discover our rooted connection with Mother Earth through breathing and moving meditations while building on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life Sephirot and introducing Five Element Trees. Dove Govrin is a BC-DMT Movement Therapist and Certified Qigong Instructor

Join Wilderness Torah in celebrating Tu B’Shvat, the New Year of the Trees, in the East Bay Redwoods
Jan. 28, 2018
10 - 3:30 p.m.
Roberts Regional Recreation Area, Oakland, CA
Advance tickets required $36–$100.

As the days begin to lengthen, we pause during Tu B’Shvat to celebrate the unseen awakening of spring. Deep within the trees, the sap begins to flow as the trees start their cycle anew.

In the tradition of the Kabbalists (16th century mystics of Tsfat, Israel), we gather in the forest to create an experiential Tu B’Shvat seder (ceremony) that connects us to the trees and the elements and takes us on a journey from the physical world to the spiritual world. We will delight in p’ri ha-etz (the fruit of the trees), and celebrate the season together through the five senses, song, meditation, and Tu B’Shvat teachings co-led by Wilderness Torah’s Maggid Zelig Golden and Hazzan Shulamit Wise Fairman of the Kehilla Community Synagogue.

In the afternoon, join us for an ecology walk around the beautiful redwood groves, a family concert with Octopretzel, and other exciting Tu B’Shvat inspired offerings.

Outside Tu B'Shevat Shabbat Service at the Gazebo in Ragle Ranch Park
Jan. 27, 2018
10:30am
Ragle Ranch Regional Park
500 Ragle Rd., Sebastopol
Free

Tu B'Shvat, the holiday also known as the New Year for Trees is a wonderful reason to get outdoors. This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. As Sonoma County heals from the fires, this is the perfect time to be outdoors, and to reflect on the resiliency of our land and its ability to recover and thrive. Join for services, quiet time walking amongst the trees; and a potluck lunch afterwards.

Tu B'shvat Seder - BE ROOTED
Feb. 3, 2018
12:30-1:30  p.m.
Free and open to all.
Congregation B'nai Emunah


Happy New Year...for the trees that is! Tu B’shvat is the day on the Jewish calendar dedicated to the care, appreciation and love of nature and the environment. Its rituals are a spiritual way to connect to the rhythm of the Earth and her seasons. The most popular ritual of this 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat is a seder. The seder is meant to elevate the spirit, as participants ascend four mystical levels through foods and their blessings. Each helps renew the flow in the Universe and in each of us. Community seder after 12:30 p.m. Shabbat services.

Tu B'Shevat Seder 2018
Urban Adamah
Jan. 27, 2018
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Berkeley, CA
Advance tickets required. $36-$72

A Wild and Sublime Night for Adults Only
Explore the divine sensory stimulation of the Seven Sacred Species at our annual Tu B’Shevat Seder. Sip farm crafted liquors and libations; enjoy an incredible dinner and a six course menu made with kosher, vegetarian, local, and seasonal ingredients; and give ode to the natural wonders and spirits of the season. Tickets required and include dinner, drinks and a full evening of entertainment and wonder. This night of revelry is not to be missed.

Celebrate Trees and All Growing Things: Tu B’Shevat Seder & Dinner
January 30, 2018 - 6:30pm
Congregation Beth-El
CLICK HERE TO RSVP FOR THE DINNER/SEDER.

Tu B’Shevat, the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, is the Jewish New Year for the trees. At our Tu B’Shevat Seder, we will study and reflect on the connections between trees, fruit and our own spiritual dormancy and growth — as well as nibbling on fruits and nuts, familiar and new, which allude to the themes of the seder and the holiday. As our society (we hope) increases its engagement and response to the impact of our human behavior on the natural world around us, we will deepen our Jewish connections to the deep spiritual ecology of trees through learning about the symbolic significance of trees, exploring the Kabbalistic imagery of the Tree of Life, and learn how the “Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge” calls us to the work of justice and tikkun (healing) — along with branching off into food and joyful song.