To Say or How To Say?
Are there four or five
cups of wine at the Pesach Seder? We're still not sure so we
reserve the fifth for Elijah. Are there four or five New Years
throughout the course of the year? Some say four and some say
five but what do we say to greet the fifth?
According to the Mishnah
in the tractate Rosh Hashanah, there are four new years. The
text reads "On the first of Nisan is the new year for Kings and
festivals. On the first of Elul is the new year for the tithe of
the cattle... On the first of Tishrei is the New Year for Years
and on the first of Shevat is the New Year for Trees, According
to the Ruling of Beyt Shammai. Beyt Hllel, however, places the
New Year for Trees on the fifteenth of that month. (Note: the
practice almost always goes with Beyt Hillel)
The discussion of this
Mishnah in the Gemara goes on for many pages. One question the
Rabbis of the Academies did not ask, however, was what about
January 1. The new year of January 1 was not part of their
world, but it is part of ours. So do we have four or five New
Years and with the New Year on January 1, what do we say?
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan,
the founder of Reconstructionist Jewish thought coined
the concept that we American Jews live in two civilizations, the
Jewish and the American. There is no question for us that
January 1 functions as our new year. We live naturally in the
American Civilization. How many of us kept writing 5767 on our
checks well past Rosh Hashanah? The more important question for
us is how much do we live in the Jewish civilization. In the
course of a normal week or month, how much of our time and
spiritual energy is spent in the Jewish civilization? Is it
enough that we can make Rabbi Kaplan's words ring true?
Each year, as December
turns to January, I hear some people say "Happy Secular New
Year." That sounds like a mouth full to me and it almost sounds
like a half hearted wish. It sounds sort of like "Happy not so
important New Year." On the other hand, just saying Happy New
Year on January 1 doesn't quite sound right either. I do change
the year on my check book in January when I remember, but the
New Year that means the most to me is on the first of Tishrei
which the Mishnah calls the New Year for Years. The solution I
have found that works best changes from year to year. Last year
I said Happy 2007. This year, I plan to say Happy 2008.
And then in just a
matter of a couple of weeks, we'll be ready to celebrate the New
Year for Trees which is called Tu B'Shvat, the fifteenth of
Shevat. In Israel at that time, trees begin to come to life
again. For the past number of years, we have celebrated a Tu
B'shvat Seder on the Friday evening closest to the fifteenth of
Shevat. This year, we are going to celebrate the Seder on the
actual day. You are invited. It will be a more intimate
experience, a combination of celebration and learning. Our Tu
B'Shvat Seder will take place on Tuesday evening January 22 just
as it is listed in our Ohev Shalom calendar and membership
directory. It will begin at 7:40 PM after the evening Minyan.
To be part of our Seder this year, please RSVP to Paula Segal at
psegal@ohev.org. It will be a spiritual and meaningful evening.
The concept of the Seder comes originally from the Kabbalists in
Tzfat. It has more recently become an annual opportunity to
focus on the environment. More trees and less CO2
is a perfect prescription for saving our planet.
So, Happy 2008 to you
and Happy Tu B'shvat as well. At the end of 2008, we will put
both together. In our Ohev Shalom Israel trip in late December,
we'll be planting trees in Israel. From now until then, I hope
your year is filled with health and well being.
