JMM Monthly Zine: Shvat 5784
This is the seventh edition of a monthly zine by the Jewish Museum of Maryland. In each issue of the zine, we publish content about the holidays, rituals, and ideas related to a month in the Jewish calendar.
This month’s zine focuses on Shvat, which goes from January 11th to February 9, 2024.
You can pick up physical copies of the monthly zine in the Lombard and Lloyd Library or download a PDF version here, or a printable booklet version here. Lombard and Lloyd Library is located in the grassy corner of the JMM’s campus at the intersection of Lombard and Lloyd Streets.
In the northern hemisphere, Shvat occurs during winter. Trees are bare, leaving behind elegant silhouettes of their impressive trunks. Mushrooms grow on fallen logs every time it rains. Frost and icicles form in the early mornings. Shvat is a time for resting and introspection.
The full moon on the night of January 24 marks the start of Tu B’Shvat, the New Year of the Trees. Tu B’Shvat is a holiday that encourages us to reflect on our relationship with the natural world and with trees in particular. Trees are a symbol throughout Jewish tradition, in rabbinic text, folklore, healing practices, and liturgy.
In this month’s zine you can learn about the Maryland state tree, and the mystical roots of Tu B’Shvat.