As Rachel Cohen blogged recently, Tu BiSh'vat takes on a new and special meaning as concern for the environment moves to the forefront of our collective consciousness. Barbara Lerman-Golomb -- a member of the Union's Commission on Social Action and Union Temple of Brooklyn, Director of Community Relations for Hazon, and much more -- writes in her article for the JTA, "Tu B'Shwatt: Serving up energy action at the seder":

"... this year as I sample the foods traditionally eaten at the Tu B'Shevat seder to commemorate springtime in Israel -- dates, almonds and figs, to name a few -- I'll not only be thinking about the farmers who planted them but the distance the foods traveled and the amount of greenhouse gases associated with their journey.

According to the Worldwatch Institute, the average food item travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to fork. For many, the foods featured at the seder are not locally grown and therefore catapult that "food miles" figure off the charts, increasing our carbon footprint.

One way to assuage our guilt is to be more intentional in taking energy-efficient actions, or to purchase carbon offsets to make up the difference for the carbon emissions being released in the atmosphere from our seder food choices.

We can even integrate energy action into the four worlds of the kabbalistic Tu B' Shevat seder."

We urge you to read the full article on JTA.org, and to visit the Union's new website, Greening Reform Judaism, as well as our TuBiSh'vat resources page, for more information and ideas about celebrating the holiday and living an environmentally responsible life.

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