Tu biSHVAT 101

WHAT IS TU BISHVAT?

Tu BiShvat is a holiday that occurs during the month of Shvat, which usually occurs in January or February, and is otherwise known as the New Year of the Trees. It is one of the four New Year’s mentioned in the Mishnah. Some of the traditions ties to the holiday include planting trees, the consumption of fruits and dried fruits, especially figs, pomegranate, dates, almonds and carob.

WHAT DOES THE NAME MEAN? THE WORD ‘TU BISHVAT’ LITERALLY MEANS THE HEBREW DATE: SHVAT 15TH. ‘TU’ CORRESPONDS TO THE HEBREW 15 (TET-VAV).

THE FACTS

Tu BiShvat, the New Year of the Trees, can be traced all the way back to Talmudic times. It is one of the four New Year’s found in the Jewish calendar. The two most prominent New Years are Rosh Hashanah and Nissan 1st. The first of Elul is the New Year of animal tithes. It was because of certain agricultural laws that the Talmud proclaimed Tu BiShvat as a New Year. With the passing of time, however, Tu BiShvat grew to become a smaller holiday of sorts.

What happens on this day to make it a New Year? The simplest explanation from the Rabbis on this topic is that it is on this day that the fruits of trees begin to form. By this time most of the rain has fallen and the amount of moisture in the trees is continuously increasing. In the Talmud the rabbis debate whether this natural change occurs on the first day of Shvat or on the 15th. In any event, Tu BiShvat was actually considered the harbinger of Spring.

After the exile of the Jews from Israel, Tu BiShvat became the day when Jews strengthen their bond with the Land of Israel. For the most part of Jewish history, nothing else happened other than that our ancestors ate fruits that we identify with the Land of Israel.

Based on the passage 8:7-8 in the 5th Book of Moses, we talk about seven species. (The honey mentioned in the Torah refers to the honey of the dates.)

THE MANY LAYERS

The almonds also played an important role in the feast of Tu BiShvat because, according to tradition, the almond tree is the first to bloom in the Land of Israel. And although the Torah passage does not mention the fruit of the carob tree, it was very popular especially because it endured journeys well and so the fruit brought from Israel was on the table in many European and North African communities.

In the twentieth century, Tu BiShvat became even more important due to the strengthening of Zionism and the establishment of the State of Israel. In Israel, Shvat 15th is celebrated by the planting of trees while in the diaspora many donate to Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, the Jewish National Fund, to plant trees in Israel.

According to tradition, Tu BiShvat is for the trees like Rosh Hashanah is for the people, that is, it is the day when the Eternal decides on the coming year’s harvest.

THE KABBALIST TU BISHVAT

The Kabbalists took the connection between Rosh Hashanah and Tu BiShvat one step further. For them, the tree is a symbol of a man: “For the tree of the field is man’s life…” (D’varim 20:19). Tikun Olam, the spiritual healing of the world, was a central task as a result of which during Tu BiShvat they ate fruits that were meant to symbolize their own spiritual healing. Moreover, they believed that by consuming fruits they were to make right the first sin, the eating of a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. For them, the trees were symbols of the Tree of Life, bringing divine goodness and blessings to the world. To reinforce this idea, in the 16th century they came up with the idea of a Tu BiShvat seder which was loosely modeled on the Passover seder.

Tu BiShvat became the Jewish Earth Day. In many parts of the world, but especially in Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, ecological conservation organizations have made this day an environmental awareness day.

There are many different customs associated with the holiday. One of these is the consumption of a wide variety of fruits. Since the holiday falls on the 15th day of Shvat, it is customary to eat 15 kinds of fruit.

WHAT IS A TU BISHVAT SEDER?

In the Middle Ages Tu BiShvat was greeted with a fruit feast to celebrate the Mishnaic New Year. In the 1600s the famous kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria, introduced the Tu BiShvat seder to his disciples in Sefad. At this festive feast, fruits and trees were given a symbolic meaning. The main idea behind it was that if we eat ten special types of fruits and drink four cups of wine in the correct order while saying the correct blessings, humanity and the world will be one step closer to spiritual perfection.

A misztikus, kabalisztikus Tu Bisvát szédert újra felfedezték és manapság sok vallásos és szekuláris zsidó követi a szertartást. Különleges hagadák is készültek rá. Mi is készítettünk nektek egyet, használjátok egészséggel!

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FURTHER CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS

ETROGS

There is a Hasidic custom that we should pray during Tu BiShvat for a very beautiful etrog for the next Sukkot. It is customary to consume jam made from the Sukkot etrog during Tu BiShvat. Sukkot, the Harvest Festival, showcases the type of judgment the trees received during the previous Tu BiShvat.

SHABBAT SHIRAH

Around the time of Tu BiShvat we celebrate a special kind of Shabbat, namely Shabbat Shira, that is the Shabbat of Song. During this Shabbat in the parshah that we read, we recount the time when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on their bare feet and their pursuers were drowned out by the Sea. Thus the Jews sang thanks to God for the miracle He had done to them.

It is customary to feed birds on this day as this is also connected to the parshah.

TREE PLANTING

Tu BiShvat has gone through a lot of changes. First, this holiday became a time for us to reevaluate our relationship with the Land of Israel. Later on this holiday evolved further into a day when we deal with our environment and our connection to nature.

These thoughts can result in us sending a donation to Israel to plant trees, participating in some environmental project, or simply going out to our own garden to see if our trees need care.

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