On a cold, frosty January morning, images of flowering fruit trees don’t easily come to mind. Yet this sense of quiet stillness was precisely the setting for the Rosh Chodesh Shevat Let’s Connect Women’s Hallel, which took place at Rabbi Goldberger’s shul and was led by Rebbetzin Russi Steinhardt. In her thoughtful words, Rebbetzin Steinhardt reminded the women that renewal is a defining theme of the month of Shevat. Tu B’Shvat marks the New Year for fruit trees, a time when, although the trees appear dormant on the outside, the sap that carries nourishment and life within them begins to rise. This unseen activation is what ultimately allows the trees to blossom and bear fruit.

Rebbetzin Steinhardt drew a powerful parallel between this natural process and the inner lives of Jewish women. Much of a woman’s labor—her tefillos, chesed, dedication to family, and quiet acts of spiritual growth which often unfolds beneath the surface, without immediate or visible results. Like the fruit trees of Shevat, the process takes time. Yet, when Jewish women renew their efforts and continue to invest with faith and perseverance, they too will merit to see the fruits of their labor emerge, often in ways more beautiful and meaningful than they could have imagined.

We would love to have you join us for our next Rosh Chodesh Hallel to welcome Chodesh Adar.