Practices_Of_Judaism

Practices Of Judaism Judaism: Tu B’Shevat and the Bat Mitzvah The goal of my religious ethnography was to study Judaism in the Los Angeles area. Since I had no specific ideas on the kind of religious events that I could attend, I turned to my Jewish friends for help. My friend Debra informed me that very soon her mother was going to be hosting a traditional dinner for B’Shevat. Coincidentally later that week, my friend Natalie received an invitation for a Bat Mitzvah in the mail, and she invited me to come with her. I was lucky enough to be able to attend two separate Jewish events and get a more well rounded view of how this specific religion is celebrated in Los Angeles. On Friday January 21 I attended a Jewish ceremonial dinner at the home of my friend Debra’s house in Beverly Hills. It was the festival of Tu B'Shevat, which is one of the four “new years” of the Jewish calendar. This holiday is referred to as “the tasting of the tree” because it is a “first fruits” ceremony. In this specific celebration it is customary to eat a “new fruit,” one that has not torah, mitzvah, bat, tree, jewish, ceremony, world, tu, rabbi, fruits, family, about, years, read, one, katie, whose, trees, temple, prayer, point, person, outside, man, friend, everyone, religion, new, life, inside, hebrew, friends, four, each, community