Tu BiShvat 5776 - Cup 4, Fruit 4, Step 4

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen
This is the fourth in a series of four posts for Tu BiShvat.

As we approach the conclusion of our journey, our cups turn totally red, as we experience the full bounty of the harvest, even as we move beyond eating. We partake only of the invisible aromas, the essence emanating from fruits and bark and leaves. We take our fourth step for the planet. We are in the world of Atzilut.

Atzilut represents all that is intangible and invisible. It reminds us of G!d's presence emanating forth from among us and within us as we do the physical work of climate action. Atzilut represents birth and re-birth, and the sacred in our conversations, our actions, our being. Atzilut embodies the moments we meditate on reality with a full and open heart and find ourselves able to hold it. It symbolizes the outcries from the depths of our souls to world leaders to enact their historic agreement and to fully address the ecological debt we owe to present and future generations. Atzilut is the holy in all our efforts to create a better world. Atzilut embodies the dreams we hold for a better future and the stories we tell of a world safe for all inhabitants of this amazing planet.


Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as an Eco-Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is the co-founder and President pro-tem of the Boston-based Jewish Climate Action Network, and a hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in 2005.