Dec 30

Dec 30 Tu B’Shevat Guided Tree Meditation

Tu B’Shevat Guided Tree Meditation

Background

Tu B’Shevat is the “New Year for the Trees”, celebrating the ascension of the ‘Saraf’ (Hebrew for ‘sap’) up the tree, infusing the Tree with a renewed life force. Tu B’Shevat is when the trees begin to awaken from the death and coldness of winter. It is the earth’s beginning of health, healing, and wakefulness.

The words, “Man is a tree of the field” (Devarim 20:19) reminds us that we are also waking up through our inner ‘Saraf’. The ‘Saraf’ is the heart of the tree that sweetens the tree’s waters, and reveals itself into an expression. The tree’s expression is fruit; our expression is some sort of breakthrough, insight, imagination, word, or action.

Kabbalah teaches us that the “Tree of Knowledge” and the “Tree of Life” in Gan Eden were actually the same tree, ‘one above and one below’. Both trees had a trunk, branches, leaves and fruit. However, the difference was that the Tree of Knowledge did not have roots, whereas the Tree of Life was rooted in its source. To eat from the mystical ‘Tree of Life’ is to realize the source and rootedness in the bounty and blessings of the world.

Here is a guided meditation that will begin by grounding us into the earth, and then draw the ‘Saraf’ up through the body into its full expression. This meditation was inspired by teachings of Rav Daniel Kohn and Sarah Yehudit Shneider

Let’s Connect!

Intentful and Inventive teacher, Jenna Zadaka, MA: CF-SLP, RYT, blends Jewish ancient wisdom and modern mindfulness and movement practices into a feminine, rejuvenative practice. She crafts innovative somatic sequencing to harmonize with the energetic teachings of the Jewish cyclical calendar. Jenna offers specialized prenatal and postpartum yoga classes, as well as energizing Vinyasa flow classes for women. In 2015, Jenna completed her 200-hour certification in Jerusalem with Kinneret Yoga and is RYT-200 certified. Since then, she has taught weekly yoga in many communities including Jerusalem, New York, Minneapolis, and Boulder,CO, as well as at holiday retreats, festivals, events, and schools. Jenna leads workshops, classes, women circles, and meditation series delving into Jewish mysticism, Jewish Chassidic thought, and the inner teachings of the month or holiday.

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