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You won't regret buying this book
if you'll buy it, you won't regret it
Indeed A Path to God's Superabundant Blessings
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An excellent resource for this Jewish HolidayWaskow's essay becomes the framework for arranging the rest of the book like a growing tree. After all, the Torah is called a "Tree of Life"! The "roots" of Tu B'Shevat are found in biblical Judaism, the strong "trunk" was formed in rabbinical Judaism, and the "branches" are various post-Talmudic movements such as Kabbalah and Hasidism, Zionism and the Land of Israel, modern Eco-Judaism, etc. Finally, there is a section on the Festival itself, which includes a variety of essays, songs, and other resources for celebrating the holiday.
Parts of this book are heavy on the "Jewish Renewal" POV, which is not surprising, since the "eco-kosher" movement began in that circle. Some of the material, such as the "Olamama" love song to Mother Earth by Hannah Tiferet, is a bit too neo-pagan for my Orthodox tastes. And while "The Bear in Me" is a nice idea for a song about nature waking up in the spring, the words "There's a bear hibernating in the crook of a tree" are not true to life -- unless the tree is meant to be a metaphor for Tu B'Shevat. Real bears do not hibernate in trees!
On the other hand, there's quite a bit of traditional material, too -- some of it never before published in English. Of special interest to me are a translation of the Ari's 16th-century kabbalistic version of the Tu B'Shevat seder, and a translation of a "lost" medieval poem called "Shemona Esrei of the Trees." The latter was unknown in modern times until it was re-discovered among the manuscripts that Solomon Schechter brought back from the Cairo genizah in 1896. It continued to languish in the obscurity of academe until Joyce Galaski fell in love with it and did this translation. The poem, which is believed to date to around the 10th or 11th century, is the oldest known liturgical piece based on this festival. Not only that, it's beautiful! (The Hebrew text of the poem is also included.)
The rabbinical "trunk" section has two excellent pieces on the halachic principle of "bal taschit" ("you shall not destroy") and how it was expanded from a biblical prohibition against cutting down fruit trees in times of war (Deut. 20:19-20) into a general prohibition against vandalism, wastefulness, conspicuous consumption, and any unnecessary destruction of resources.
These examples are only a tiny nibble of the many gourmet tastes of Torah to be sampled in "Trees, Earth, and Torah." Like all such anthologies, it's definitely a mixed bowl of fruit, some sweeter than others. Taken as a whole, however, the book is a wonderful feast! It should be in every Jewish library.
Excellent anthologySince Tu B'Shvat is arguably the most vegetarian of Jewish holidays because of its many connections to vegetarian themes and concepts, vegetarians should joyfully welcome the publication of this anthology with its abundance of material that should contribute to the increasing popularity of this mid-winter holiday. All who are looking for ways to apply new, creative approaches to ancient festivals should also be pleased.
Among the following valuable and interesting features the book contains are:
1) An introductory essay by Arthur Waskow that traces Tu B'Shvat's growth throughout history from its original status as a day that separated trees in terms of when tithings were due, through the establishment of the Tu B'Shvat seder by the kabbalists of Sefat in the sixteenth century, through the associations with tree-planting of nineteenth century Zionists, to recent adaptations by modern environmentalists;
2) Quotations related to trees and other Tu B'Shvat-related concepts from the Torah and other Jewish sources;
3) Material related to rabbinic dicussions related to Tu B'Shvat, including a recently discovered medieval prayer, "Shmoneh Esrei for the New Year for Trees," and insightful essays on bal tashchit, the mandate to not waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, based on a Torah verse not to destroy fruit-bearing trees in wartime, by Rabbi Norman Lamm, President of Yeshiva University, and by Eilon Schwartz, Director of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership in Israel.
4) Seven items relating kabbalah and hasidism to Tu B'Shvat, including a translation of "Peri Eitz Hadar," a kabbalistic Tu B'Shvat seder.
5) Five items relating Tu B'Shvat to Zionism and the land of Israel, including an extensive analysis of how the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet le-Yisrael) used tree plantings on Tu B'Shvat to educate young Israelis on love of the land of Israel and nature.
6) Thirteen wide-ranging items on connections between Tu B'Shvat themes and "eco-Judaism' and current environmental problems, including essays relating the holiday to recent efforts to save the Redwood forests and an analysis of current environmental threats by Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor of the Jewish Theological seminaryt.
7) Much wonderful material to help celebrate Tu B'Shvat today, including blessings for the seder, suggestions for cooking up a Tu B'Shvat seder, suggestions to involve children in the Tu B'Shvat seder and other holiday-related activities, suggestions about planting and taking care of trees, suggestions about new Tu B'Shvat traditions, recipes, and songs.
8) An article co-authored by Jonathan Wolf and this author on "Judaism, Vegetarianism, and Tu B'Shvat," which discusses aspects of "the most vegetarian holiday".
9) Sources for Learning and Doing ("Seeds"), including a listing of "Environmental Organizations, Publications, and Videos," a discussion of several Tu B'Shvat seder Haggadot, and sources for information about tree planting.
This brief summary can only give a taste of the many "fruity" delights in this book, and I regret having to leave out mention of many significant themes and distinguished authors. Because of its many environmental and vegetarian connections, I hope that this wonderful anthology will be widely read and discussed so that it will meet its potential to play a major role in the expansion and enhancement of an increasingly popular Tu B'Shva
Delicious and varied as Tu B'Shvat fruit!
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Excellent history of scienceI read this book twice and will probably read it, again. The author's presentation is simply masterful. Step by step, he recreates the setting and background for the book's creation and utilization. In fact, he walks the reader through about 2000 years of 'uses' that people found for the book. According to Cullen, this classic was probably a gift to a Chinese emperor and then dumped in a back room for 200 years. It was only when political circumstances changed and an 'old' book might be valuable that it was 'rediscovered' and rendered useful.
For anyone interested in the practice of ancient astronomy, Cullen goes into great detail on the tools and practice of Chinese astronomers from about 3000 BC to the arrival of Jesuits in 1600. For anyone interested in Chinese political history, Cullen explores imperial Chinese history in a way that simply makes one want to read much, much more. For anyone interested in ancient Chinese record keeping, Cullen offers practical advice on what to make of the 'documents' we moderns discover.
I hope they make this a paperback so that it can get wider circulation. What is commonly called 'the history of math' is often embarrassingly western (ethno-centric). This book offers a means of correcting that unfortunate state of affairs.
Sweeps away all New Age psychobabble
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By the Grace of God
Comments from a contributor

Stunning and inspiring.
The most powerful gift for a wedding day
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Diamond cutting sword!!!Please, Dr.Cleary, more, more...
A welcome translation
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Siddur Tehilat Hashem
Very easy to use and followThank you.


An impressive compilation of tasty recipes
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Analyst and child as a narrative duo

Don't Worry - Be Happy!