25/01/2024
Happy Tu B'Shvat! In India we called Tu B’shvat Tob Shebat. Because there is no "v" sound in Judeo-Arabic, the letter vet, or bet, is connected to the tet and yod, and becomes TOV, pronounced TOB. It's an auspicious twist, because tov means good. Tu B'shvat was also once an occasion to distribute charity to the poor in amounts of 91, The numerical value of the Hebrew word אִילָן, from the Aramaic word for tree.
Today's Tu B'Shvat seder is a simplified version of the intricate tradition described in Pri Etz Hadar (Fruit of the Beautiful or Magnificent Tree), an anthology of readings for Tu B'shvat from the 16th century. In our home in Calcutta, we invited guests to enjoy a bountiful spread of about 50 kinds of fruits and nuts, including the Seven Species of the land of Israel, and some fruit you've probably never heard of, like rose apple, moosambi (a type of lemon) and sapota (chickoo), with appropriate blessings recited for each. Readings from the Bible as well rabbinic and mystical texts that relate to fruit and trees are interspersed.
Tu B'Shvat is also celebrated festively in other communities. Ladino-speaking Jews have a ceremony called Frutikas. The Bene Israel Jews of Bombay hold a malida, honoring the prophet Elijah, who the Bene Israel say rescued their ancestors from a shipwreck on Tu B'Shvat in....India! After prayers are offered, members of the community eat from the malida offering, which features sweetened dried rice mixed with fruits, nuts, and aromatics, piled high in the center of a round plate. The malida is now a national ceremony on Tu B'Shvat.
I also like to picture Tu B'Shvat as a journey of roots, something that marks so much of my work. If you'd like to read more, please read my blog and visit my website, www.explorejewishindia.com