Facts,
Fun and more for the Jewish
"New Year of the Trees"
On January 18, we celebrate the holiday of Tu B'Shvat, referred to as the Jewish Arbor Day and also the "New Year of the Trees". Occurring on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Sh'vat, Tu B'Shvat usually falls during the month of February, the dead of winter here in North America. Tu B'Shvat emphasizes the strong association that Judaism has with the land of Israel by honoring the bounty of fruits and nuts that are native to Israel's soil. In modern times, Tu B'Shvat has become associated with the reforestation of Israel and serves as an opportunity to phisically engage in the process of developing the land.
The Jewish Arbor Day is called Tu B’Shvat.
Tu B’Shvat (the fifteenth day of the month of
Shvat) the New Year for
the Trees- dates back to Talmudic times. It is one of the four
new years of
the Jewish calendar - Rosh Hashanah and Nissan (the first month) being the
two most prominent. (The first of Elul is the new year in regard to tithing animals.)
The
Talmud regards Tu B’Shvat as the new year with respect to certain
agricultural laws related
to tithing. With the passage of time, it became
a minor festival rather than just an event in
the Jewish Calendar.
What
exactly happens on this date to make it a anew year?” The rabbis most common
explanation is that the fruit of the trees begins to form. The majority of the
winter rain
has fallen by now, and the sap in the trees has risen. There is
debate in the Talmud (Rosh
Hashanah 14A) over whether this change in nature
should be marked on the first day of
Shvat or the fifteenth. In any case,
Tu B’Shvat was seen as a harbinger of spring.
After the
exile of the Jews from Israel, Tu 8’Shvat also became a day on which to
commemorate our connection to Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. During much of
Jewish
history, the only observance of this day was the practice of eating
fruit associated with the
land of Israel. A tradition based on Deuteronomy
8:8 holds that there are five fruits and
two grains associated with it as
~a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and
pomegranates, a land of olive
trees and honey.” (The honey referred to in the verse is date
honey,
not bee honey.) Almonds were also given a prominent place in Tu 8’Shvat meals
since
the almond trees were believed to be the first to blossom of all trees
in Israel. Though not
mentioned in the verse from Deuteronomy, bokser - carob
- was the most popular fruit to
use, since it could survive the long trip
from Israel to Jewish communities in Europe, North
Africa, etc.
Tu
B'Shvat is sometimes called Chag Hanetiot (Holiday of Planting trees.) Young and
old
Jews in Israel go out to the hills and valleys on this day and plant tens
of thousands of
young saplings. They replant forests, and seek to change the
desert and rocky hills into
habitable, life-giving areas.
In
the twentieth century, because of the growth of Zionism and then the founding
of the
State of Israel, the association of Tu 8’Shvat with the land of
Israel has gained even more
significance. En Israel, the day is celebrated
with elaborate tree-planting ceremonies held
by school children. In the Diaspora,
children and adults give money to the Jewish National
Fund (J.N.F.) to plant
trees in Israel.
Jews have often thought of trees as standing
for life and strength. Sometimes they have
compared people to trees. For instance:
A good person is like a cedar tree. The cedar grows straight,
And so does a good person’s deeds help many others.
The cedar reaches upwards, and a good person’s heart
Reaches to G-d.