B'shalah 5767 -- Zeh Eli v'Anvehu: The Environmental Lessons of Tu B'shvat and Shabbat Shira

This year Shabbat B’Shalach, Shabbat Shira, on which we celebrate the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds, falls on Tu B’Sh’vat, as it does in many years. They are never far apart. What explains this parsha’s exceptional link to Tu B’sh’vat? There are 2 important ways in which Tu B’Sh’vat and Shabbat Shira magnify each other.

First, They teach us to recognize the goodness and might of God in the beauty of nature as surely as we did in the suspension of nature at the Splitting of the Sea. Likewise, just as God’s majestic interference with the natural world caused our ancestors to break into exuberant song, so too the majesty of nature and all the living things in it should give us much cause to sing.

Second, they teach us that although we are not allowed to live our lives in reliance on God’s miracles, we are allowed – and encouraged – to rely on the budding of the trees and the coming of spring in this beautiful world God created. For example, we sing on Tu B’Sh’vat HaSh’kedia Porachat – The Almond Tree Blossoms, and indeed it does! When we lived in Israel, there was an almond tree across the street from our building. Sure enough, within days of Tu B’Sh’vat, buds could be seen upon it.

But we cannot totally rely on God to maintain this beautiful world. According to the midrash, the splitting of the Sea of Reeds would not have occurred if all of the Jewish people had stood waiting at the shore. God’s miraculous redemption would not have occurred if Nachshon had not been willing to take action and wade into the water. So too, we cannot stand about waiting for God to repair and maintain the earth. Our wonderful planet will not long keep its integrity while we all stand waiting at the shore of environmental activism. We must commit ourselves to take care of the world – otherwise we will be unable to rely on God’s kindness.

Fortunately, the path for us is easier than it was for Nachshon. We need not expose ourselves to danger, but merely to make wiser decisions, and to make our voice heard. We can start by installing Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) in all of our fixtures. These bulbs use less than ¼ the energy as incandescent bulbs and last for many, many years. They are now available in almost every shape and variety of light bulb, from floodlights to full spectrum. (For more information see http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/cc_cfl.php). CFLs are environmentally and economically efficient, but they won’t install themselves. We need only to be bold, like Nachshon, and go do it!!

The combined message of these special days is encapsulated by a verse from the Song by the Sea. As our ancestors saw the majesty of God they sang the beautiful words– Zeh Eli v’Anvehu. This verb v’Anvehu is rich with meaning. Among the possibilities are that is derived from navah, pleasantness or beauty (and hence a source for the halachic principle of hiddur mitzvah) or from n’veh, a home or dwelling. The sentence might therefore mean “This is my God and I will beautify God (or Godly things)” or “This is my God and I will build a home for God.”

The coincidence of Tu B’sh’vat and Shabbat Shira suggests another midrashic reading, Zeh – Olam HaZeh, this world; Eli – nivra al yidei Eli – was created by my God; v’Anvehu – and I will commit myself to making it a more beautiful and more appropriate dwelling place for God. This is the lesson that we should learn from Shabbat Shira and Tu B’sh’vat.