On Rosh Hashanah L’ilanot, the New Year of the Trees, the trees and the Tree of Life are judged for another year of fertility or not—just like human beings are judged on Rosh Hashanah.
In honor of Tu Bi'Shevat, we are happy to offer this piece from our friends at Isabella Freedman. On behalf of the Ritualwell team, we wish you a joyous and fruitful New Year of the Trees!
On a recent Saturday evening, I found myself in a small artsy theater in downtown Seattle for the debut of an original animated film. When the film ended, the young filmmaker, Frieda, was greeted with thunderous applause. Afterward, she joined me on stage for a Director’s Q&A session, where I interviewed her about both the content and the making of her movie. The topic of the film? Parashat Beshalakh.
Here I was ... singing about the purity of souls with a room full of Reconstructionists: queers, gender outlaws, patrilineal Jews, and so many of us who are so used to being reminded that our souls are anything but.
It was a week filled with water—starting with my partner Ever’s conversion to Judaism by immersion in the mikveh, the womb of the universe that moves us from one state of being to the other.Â
