38 | FEBRUARY 23 • 2023 

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to Trees!

What a better guest of honor 
than trees! In Jewish tradition, 
Tu b’Shevat is a celebration of 
the birthday, the new year of life, 
for trees.
And what more festive and 
intentional way to mark a 
holiday than with a full seder 
and reading of the Haggadah? 
No, not the Passover seder and 
Haggadah, the Tu b’Shevat seder 
and Haggadah!
On Feb. 5, the community 
gathered at Platform 18 in Royal 
Oak for a multi-organization 
collaboration to celebrate Tu 
b’Shevat. The sponsoring orga-
nizations included the Isaac 
Agree Downtown Synagogue, 
Repair the World Detroit, The 
Well and Hazon Detroit. The 
Greening of Detroit was also a 
key part of the program.
Julia Cunnien, Ari Cohen, 
Carly Silverman, Erica Meyers, 
Emily Levine, Amit Weitzer and 
Rabbi Jeff Stombaugh designed 
the beautiful and deliberately 
crafted Haggadah for the occa-
sion — Tu b’Shevat Haggadah: 
Tending to the Land, Friendship, 
and Jewish Tree-dition.
The Lunchbox 
(@thekosherlunchbox) catered 

the delicious vegan, gluten-free, 
and dairy-free multi-course 
feast. And around each table 
attendees followed and dis-
cussed the Haggadah. 
Over the seder, the guests 
transitioned through four cups 
of wine, starting from pure 
white and ending with pure red, 
with a mix in between. Each cup 
was dedicated with intention 
and blessing.
At the completion of the 
meal, the guests participated 
in a service project facilitated 
by Repair the World to benefit 
Keep Growing Detroit’s Garden 
Resource Program. Guests took 
time to hand-label popsicle 
sticks that will be used to mark 
crops planted by program 
beneficiaries. 

Tu B’Shevat Seder 

faces&places

YEVGENIYA GAZMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER 

PHOTOS BY JAMIE FELDMAN

Debby and 
Adam Plotnick

Carly Silverman, 
education 
and program 
manager of 
Hazon Detroit.

Richard Fisher, 
Ilka Naumann and 
their son Julius 
enjoy the seder.

A group around 
the Tu b’Shevat 
seder table.

Rabbi Jeff 
Stombaugh and 
Erica Meyers of 
The Well

