How Tu B’Shvat Came to Be Politicized and Why It Shouldn’t Be https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/religion-holidays/2017/04/how-tu-bshvat-came-to-be-politicized-and-why-it-shouldnt-be/

April 13, 2017 | Tevi Troy
About the author: Tevi Troy is a presidential historian and former White House aide. In 2001, he served as the first director of the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives at the Department of Labor. His latest book is Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump

On Monday and Tuesday night this week, Jews around the world attended the seder—one of the most widely observed Jewish rituals. Some had also participated in a seder in February, following the practice of 16th-century mystics who transformed Tu B’Shvat—the fifteenth day of the month of Shvat, or the “new year of the trees”—into a minor holiday complete with a ritual meal. But for most of its contemporary observers in America, Tu B’Shvat has become a day for environmental activism. Tevi Troy, in conversation with Jonathan Silver, explains how doing so is not only unfaithful to the holiday but symptomatic of a dangerous trend toward politicizing Judaism. (Audio, 25 minutes.)

Read more on Tikvah: https://tikvahfund.org/library/podcast-tevi-troy-on-the-politics-of-tu-bshvat/