Since January 2008 PJJP has hosted annual Trees of Reconciliation Tu B’Shvat seders. Using an original haggadah created by members Elliott bat Tzedek and Hannah Schwarzschild, the seders focus on the role of trees in Jewish history and in Palestine/Israel, as well as on the role of the Jewish National Fund. Seders using our haggadah have been hosted in communities around the world, including 15 U.S. and Canadian cities, London, Be’ersheva, Jerusalem, and Sydney.
Each Rosh Hashanah, PJJP members and our allies gather for Tashlich Tzedek, a political spiritual ritual. Tashlich is a traditional Jewish ceremony at the new year where we cast off the sins of the previous year by casting symbolic stones (or bread) into a body of moving water. Our original Tashlich Tzedek event borrows from the traditional ritual to cast off the sins of the occupation of Palestine, to disavow the injustices being committed in our names, and to pledge to work for justice and peace in Palestine/Israel in the year to come.
PJJP’s annual Tisha B'Av service was created many years ago by members Elliott bat Tzedek and Karen Escovitz. Using Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Palestinian voices, we gather each year to understand the experience of exile, to honor all of the people who mourn Jerusalem, and to contemplate our own losses and the steps we must take towards justice. Since 2008, the PJJP Tisha B’Av ritual has been held at Mishkan Shalom, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood.
Click here to download a Tu B’Shvat haggadah and leaders guide.
Click here to download a Tashlich ritual guide.