“And I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments and I will take you as a nation for Me and I will be your G-d and you will know that I am Hashem your G-d” (Shemos 6:6–7)

'And I will take’ — only when you become people who are upright liberated and imbued with the consciousness of your human rights will I take you as a nation. Just break free and you will become My people. My nation — with no country no land — only Me.” (Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch on the Torah Parshas Va’eira)

There’s something special about the Yamim Tovim. Something colorful lively exciting and out of the ordinary is in the air. I feel it as I approach the Tu B’Shvat stall in the supermarket — it’s never too early for me — and watch my children crowd around the exquisite table adorned with almond branches and a tempting array of colors and tastes including all the fruits of Eretz Yisrael (and some other countries as well). Their eyes shine as they absorb the abundance of sights and smells.

We arrive home way too late heavy bags weighing us down. The two boys start fighting about a shiny stone they found outside my ten-year-old suddenly remembers homework the baby is hungry.Bathtime supper laundry and a little girl who can’t fall asleep because she might have a bad dream … “So please Mommy sit with me …”

At that point I land with a bump from my lofty Tu B’Shvat dreams. And that landing although I’ve become accustomed to it is always painful. 

‘A nation for Me’ — this short expression conveys the entire future destiny of the Jewish People for the first time. It encompasses the difference between Judaism which is unique and all the other nations. It is entirely inappropriate to call Judaism ‘the Jewish religion’; it is thoughtless indeed to call it a religion at all or to categorize it together with all other religions. 

‘For Me’ — a nation for G-d. These words teach us that the Judaism that Hashem established is not and never will be a ‘religion.’ True Judaism does include this foundation as well and is considered by all a religion but the term ‘Judaism’ is immeasurably broader and more multifaceted. In other religions G-d has nothing but temples churches and congregations ... and the nation itself stands before kings and governments. The foundation of their existence is the country and not the religion and G-d.” (ibid.)

Judaism with its 613 mitzvos and abundance of festivals is no religion? How can that be?

All the religions in the world have holidays folklore traditional foods and places of worship. But the other peoples after they’re finished with their festivals pack their traditional items back into the closet and emerge from their temples into everyday life. A Jew however never folds up his tablecloth till next year never returns to his familiar schedule after fulfilling his religious duties. Because Judaism isn’t a religion it’s life itself. Our existence means being a nation of G-d; a nation whose entire essence is devoted to Him.

Tu B’Shvat descends upon your home at last. The table isn’t set to perfection and nothing came of the luscious fruitcake you’d planned to make. You weren’t lazy. You just had to listen to one child’s woes and comb another’s hair review your daughter’s math homework and wash a mountain of dishes. You ended up sitting down to a simple supper for two with your husband although you’d really wanted to bake but … Then your mother called …

Is this really a rough landing from your dreams? Or is it possible those same dreams are actually coming true? Aren’t the chagim all a means towards a single end?

“We could have been a ‘temple congregation’ bringing sacrifices but His desire was to utilize those sacrifices to form us as a nation. Other nations are unified through owning joint portions of their native lands however the Jewish People are unified by their joint partnership in the G-d of Israel” (ibid.).

Tu B’Shvat. Not a religion but eternal life. Not a group of believers but the people of G-d. A plate of fruit adorns your table and happy little people sit around it. Look Hashem — I’ve set a table for You. A table full of small simple symbolisms ordinary moments and shards of positive but altogether undistinguished thoughts. Here are my fruits. The fruits of a life lived with Hashem.