Planting Dreams — A Tu B’shvat Reflection
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On a Monday night in December, I went to sleep a little earlier than usual and set my alarm to 11:45pm. When my alarm went off, I tiptoed into my office (so as not to wake my wife) and logged onto a class I had joined. The class takes place in New Zealand at 7pm on Tuesday (19 hours away from me).
What was I thinking??? I asked myself even as I signed up to this incredible class. I am an early to bed, early to rise kind of person, always have been, even as a teenager. And here I am waking up in the middle of the night for a two-hour class.
I had seen an instagram of Joydah Mae singing and inviting people to a Voice Activation class. I didn’t even know what exactly that meant, but I had such a huge YES, I signed up to get up at midnight seven times during a 14 week period.
During our first class, Aroha, the co-facilitator of the class, invited us to find a pot and put some soil in it. I couldn’t figure out which pot to use or where to get soil. A few days later, I woke up and realized I already had a pot and soil.
As some of you know, I love lego . . . it is one of the things I do to play and release tension. I started this hobby a few years ago after an injury, when I couldn’t do physical activity to release tension. Anyway, I love legos! Last time we went to the Lego store I bought myself a mug.
I haven’t used it and it made no sense that I haven’t, because it is comfortable in one’s hand. It has the perfect round feel. Perhaps, I told myself, it is because it is too special to have in the sink with other dishes. Perhaps . . . it was waiting for this moment.
Right now, we live in a place where we don’t have a garden outside, and for the first time in my adult life, I couldn’t compost our food scraps. We found a service that picks up our food scraps and every month, leaves some rich soil that we use for our plants and herbs.
That Wednesday, they dropped off soil.
And so . . . I put the soil in my lego mug and put it on my altar. It felt special and sacred.
I know . . . can Lego be sacred . . . well, it is for me. One day I hope to write a post about sacred (kadosh) in Judaism, and what the word means in Hebrew, and how it has evolved to mean sacred. For now . . . I had a Lego mug on my altar filled with rich compost soil.
At a later call, Aroha invited us to add a plant, seedling, or seed into the pot we had chosen. This time, I couldn’t figure out why I was procrastinating; I knew what I wanted to plant there. And then I realized, I was waiting for the day I usually plant.
Tonight and tomorrow, Jews will be celebrating Tu B’shvat—the new year for the tree. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is usually cold this time of year. And right now, there is a lot of snow in a lot of places. So why are we celebrating the trees? For those of us who plant every year, especially herbs and vegetables, now is the time to start planting seeds in the house. We place tiny seeds on wet paper towels to create seedlings, or in small amounts of earth, under a window facing that has lots of sunlight. We know that shoots will soon come up. And when the frost melts and the plants are taller, we plant them outside.
Tu B’shvat reminds us that even when the land is covered in snow . . . it will melt and produce herbs, vegetables, and even fruits. It asks us — do you know that every tree that has shed its leaves will bloom again? Can you celebrate that today, while it is freezing and snow is covering the ground?
This holiday invites us to hope into the future, to see the possibility even when we can’t see it with our eyes yet. It calls us into a reality that is not yet here, but we know is coming.
What do you need to dream into? To believe it is possible? To create with soil and pot and seed (whether figuratively or literally) so it can grow?
So many blessings,
Chani
About the Author
Chani Getter, LCSW, is a therapist, public speaker, and interfaith minister. They are the author of Mapito: Embrace Yourself, praised by Kirkus as “a kind and inclusive guide to becoming your most authentic self.” Chani’s life and work have been featured in two documentary films and in numerous news outlets.
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