A striking phenomena of modern life is how distant we have become from nature. The ancients were very connected and sensitive to the cycles of the sun, moon, the stars and the planets. But today, even navigation is no longer by the stars, but by computer.

I remember looking up at the sky in a rural area and seeing thousands and thousands of stars! This is what our forefathers saw every evening. It is easy to forget our natural connection to the world, and how much we rely on the natural cycles and resources G-d has given us.

Our Jewish holidays and cycles are based on the world’s natural cycles. Passover marks our exodus from Egypt, Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah and Sukkot commemorates our wandering in the desert. But it is also true that Passover is at the beginning of the spring when the barley was harvested. Shavuot was also the time of the harvesting of the wheat, and Sukkot is the harvest of the produce and the fruit.

Last year, the Jewish calendar had two months of Adar because Passover must occur during the spring. When Pesach gets a little too early in the solar calendar, we insert an extra month to push Pesach back into its natural alignment.

Why is it so important that Pesach be in the spring? There's an intimate bridge between the physical structure of the universe and the spiritual universe. What happens on earth models the “spiritual vibe” that God is putting into the earth that time. Take freedom. The earth itself becomes liberated after a long cold winter, after it was dormant, to begin productivity and growth. Pesach occurs in spring because that’s the natural time of freedom.

We judge the nature of the physical and spiritual “vibe” by the season in the land of Israel. When it is spring there, G-d puts freedom into the world, and it spreads from there to places like Australia or South Africa where it is not spring then. In Israel, however, it must be springtime during Pesach, because what happens in nature reflects a deeper spiritual truth.

Shavuot, a time of harvest, is also the time of Giving of the Torah, when we harvest the knowledge made available to us. Sukkot is the time of ingathering; so, too, after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we can internalize that knowledge into our behavior.

This is also true in our prayers. The proper time (zman) of our prayers is based on transition points in the day. When the night turns into the morning, when the sun rises, is when we read the Shema. You can say the Shema as late as three hours into the day, but the best way of praying is when we are moved by the grandeur of the universe as it switches from night into day. Mincha is to be prayed as the sun sets, and Maariv when the stars come out. These transitions inspire us. When we pray in the morning, it is as the sun rises and inspires us; as the sun sets we have the fear and trepidation when we ask for Divine protection. When we pray in darkness, we affirm our faith even at times of despair, giving us the courage to persevere through the night.

Today, we come into shul with the electricity on, so it seems the same all the time. Shacharit is the same, Mincha is the same, and Maariv is the same. But if one is truly connected to the earth, one understands that even the emotional meaning of Shacharit is different from that of Mincha, and different from that of Maariv. We pray three times a day, because each prayer elicits a different view.

Tu b’Shevat, the new year of the trees, helps us focus on the natural world. In Israel, it is the recognized time when the sap begins running in the trees, the first early mark of spring’s approach. We can use this physical change as a spiritual time to focus on the earth and the importance of protecting it.

Let’s take a few moments to appreciate our connection to the physical world, to appreciate G-d’s marvelous creations, and protect the natural resources we were granted.

Rabbi Breitowitz is rabbi of the Woodside Synagogue in Silver Spring, MD and Professor of Law at the University of Maryland.

Reprinted with permission of Canfei Nesharim [www.canfeinesharim.org]