22 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 

H

azon Detroit, The 
Well, Repair the World 
Detroit and Isaac Agree 
Downtown Synagogue are com-
ing together to honor the Jewish 
New Year of the Trees on Feb. 5 
with “Tu B’Shvat Seder: Tending 
to the Land, Friendship and 
Jewish Tree-dition.
”
 Attendees will nosh and sip 
their way through the newly 
updated 2023 Tu b’Shevat 
Haggadah focused on climate, 
stewardship and community 
connection. A special guest 
from The Greening of Detroit, a 
Detroit-based nonprofit focused 
on tree equity and planting 
around the city, will lead the first 
part of the seder while commu-
nity leaders add wisdom from 
their respective organizations.
A vegetarian kosher dinner 
will be served, along with rit-
ual foods and wine. There will 
be dairy-free and gluten-free 

options available. The event is at 
 
 
Platform 18 is ADA-accessible. 
Due to the generosity of donors, 
subsidized tickets are available 
for $10 per person until Feb. 1. 
If cost is prohibitive or special 
accommodations are needed, 
reach out to Erica Meyers at 
erica@meetyouatthewell.org. 
The evening will close with 
a service project to support 
Keep Growing Detroit’s Garden 
Resource Program by writing 
plant identification tags. 
The Tu B’Shvat Seder is an 
initiative Hazon Detroit has 
been doing for years, and the 
new Haggadah will take bits and 
pieces of their favorites from the 
past while also fitting in a couple 
of new things. 
Julia Cunnien, Hazon 
Detroit’s Seal of Sustainability 
program manager, says the seder 
and Haggadot are inspired by 
kabbalistic Judaism, the four 

worlds, and the theme of that 
first world is talking about one’s 
relationship with land and place.
“The Greening is going to 
be talking about the impact 
of living with trees or without 
trees and then encouraging 
people to sign up for a volunteer 
tree planting day in March,
” 
Cunnien said.
“It’s sometimes a little bit 
weird celebrating Tu b’She-
vat here in Michigan where 
you can’t really plant trees in 
February. We acknowledge 
that, and we also acknowledge 
how trees can be a useful tool 
in terms of climate mitigation,
” 
Cunnien added. “Hazon is 
focused on climate action within 
the realm of sustainability, so 
we’re really drawing those con-
nections during this seder.
” 
More than anything, Cunnien 
hopes this event carves out a 
space to connect, bring light, 

start talking about the spring 
and get excited for a tree plant-
ing, and to draw connections 
between tree planting, the cli-
mate crisis and taking climate 
action. 
“
And do that in commnity 
together, because oftentimes, 

there’s a lot of overwhelm that 
comes from talking about the 
climate crisis,
” Cunnien said. 
“But if we are in community 
gathered together and folks 
understand the issue and what 
we can do, it’s a pretty powerful 
antidote to that anxiety.
” 

Space is limited. Register ASAP here: 

https://jlive.app/events/3678. 

Hazon Detroit, The Well, Repair the World Detroit and 
the Downtown Synagogue will host Tu B’Shvat Seder.

Celebrating the 
New Year of Trees

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

“THERE’S A LOT 
OF OVERWHELM 
THAT COMES 
FROM TALKING 
ABOUT THE 
CLIMATE CRISIS, 
BUT IF WE ARE 
IN COMMUNITY 
GATHERED 
TOGETHER ... 
IT’S A PRETTY 
POWERFUL 
ANTIDOTE TO 

THAT ANXIETY.” 

— JULIA CUNNIEN

