Tu B’Shvat is the Jewish New Year for fruit trees. It’s a day to celebrate the new fruits of the season and to remember our connection to the earth. But why celebrate a new year for fruits? What is the meaning
Tu B’Shvat: What Is A Birthday For Trees?
The Talmud shows us that Tu B'Shvat is a birthday for any tree born in the previous year – a “new year” for the trees. But isn't that odd? Imagine if we all celebrated our birthday on the same day, regardless of when we were born?
In this video, Imu Shalev breaks down this strange holiday to uncover the true meaning behind Tu B’Shvat. Join his journey to uncover what Tu B’Shvat really means to us today.
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What Does “Tu B'Shvat” Mean?
In gematria – a Hebrew system that gives numerical value to letters – Tu or ט״ו in Hebrew, is the equivalent of 15. Therefore, Tu B’Shvat is the fifteenth day of the Jewish month of Shevat.
In Hebrew it is also referred to as "Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot," which translates to "New Year of the Trees" in English.
Origins of Tu B'Shvat
Tu B'Shvat is not mentioned in the Bible. It appears for the first time in the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah, 1:1) where there’s a dispute between the schools of the great Sages Hillel and Shammai over the exact date of the “New Year for the Trees.” Shammai’s students say that it falls on the 1st day of Shevat, whereas Hillel’s students say that it is on the 15th.
ארבעה ראשי שנים הם... באחד בשבט, ראש השנה לאילן, כדברי בית שמאי; בית הלל אומרין, בחמישה עשר בו.
There are four New Year days… The first of Shevat is the New Year for trees, according to the followers of Shammai. Those who follow Hillel say it is on the fifteenth of Shevat.
As is the case in most disputes between these two great Sages, the opinion of Hillel and his students
What Is the Jewish New Year for Trees?
When you hear the words “New Year for the Trees,” you might imagine trees with party hats counting down to midnight, or blowing shofars and dipping the season’s new fruits in honey. But Tu B'Shvat has nothing to do with any of that. The significance of this day is related to the Bible’s agricultural commandments.
According to the Bible, you can’t just plant trees and eat their fruits. There are many laws that dictate how farming and harvesting produce need to be carried out. For example, there’s a mitzvah called “orlah,” which states that fruit may not be eaten from a tree during the first three years of the tree's life. The fruit of the fourth year also has a special status called “neta revai.” In the times of the Temple, people would bring a special offering to inaugurate the tree’s fruits in its fourth year. Nowadays, without a Temple, a different ritual is carried out with the fruits of the fourth year.
Tu B'Shvat was instituted as a cut-off date, a universal “birthday” or new year for the trees, in order to determine the age of all fruits. So whether its an apricot, a pomegranate, or a clementine tree, their ages are all calculated starting from the same date.
Tithes & Taxes
Tu B'Shvat also played an important role with regard to “ma’asrot,” taxes and tithes that were taken from fruits and vegetables. The specific types of taxes for a given year would change based on an alternating yearly cycle. The various taxes included: A tax that went to supporting the Kohanim, the nation’s spiritual leaders; a tithe for the Levites, the nation’s educators; a tithe farmers brought to Jerusalem to eat themselves; and a tithe given to the poor.
All of these contributions had to be brought from produce of the current year, and Tu B'Shvat marked the beginning of each new year for trees and their fruits.
Why the Month of Shevat?
This specific date was chosen because it’s the time of year when most of the year’s rain has already fallen (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 14a). In Israel, some fruit trees are already beginning to blossom by this point in the season.
This is reflected in the opening lines of the most famous modern Israeli Tu B'Shvat song:
״השקדיה פורחת, השמש כבר זורחת...״
“The almond tree is blossoming, the sun has begun to shine…”
When Is Tu B’Shvat in 2018?
Tu B’Shvat this year falls out on January 30th at
| Tu B'Shvat Dates | Start | End |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5778 | 30 |
31 January |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5779 | 20 |
21 January |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5780 | 9 |
10 February |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5781 | 27 |
28 January |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5782 | 16 |
17 January |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5783 | 5 |
6 February |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5784 | 24 |
25 January |
| 15 Sh'vat, 5785 | 12 |
13 February |
Tu B'Shvat History & Customs
Because the Mishnah calls Tu B'Shvat a New Year, or "Rosh HaShanah," it receives a semi-special status as a holiday. As on all other festive days, the penitential prayer Tachanun is omitted in the daily services. However, there is no other religious requirement on this day.
Nonetheless, there are a variety of Tu B'Shvat customs that have developed over the generations, such as the Tu B'Shvat Seder, planting trees and getting in touch with nature.
Tu B'Shvat Seder
Some people celebrate a Tu B'Shvat Seder. While this custom has turned into a popular celebration, it originated as an esoteric practice of Kabbalists in Israel and Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries. They created a seder, loosely modeled on the Passover seder, that involved eating various fruits and drinking four cups of wine.
The seder follows a special order of eating and drinking that was intended to be a mystical rectification of “the Four Worlds,” a Kabbalistic depiction of the various aspects of Creation that includes both the physical and spiritual planes. Interestingly, the popular concept of “tikkun olam,” which literally means “fixing the world,” derives from Kabbalistic practices such as this one.
In the Tu B'Shvat seder, the fruit’s smell and appearance, the absence or presence of a peel or seed, are all taken to symbolize different facets of reality. To what extent is the source of life covered over by a “peel”? How much are we separated from that which gives us life? How much of life can we absorb directly, and be filled with God’s goodness? The various colors of wine are likewise used to symbolize the interaction between God’s qualities of kindness or Chesed (white wine) and severity or Gevurah (red wine).
Planting a Tree: Zionism & Returning to the Land of Israel
With the advent of the Zionist movement, Tu B'Shvat took on a new dimension. It became a day associated with returning to the ancient homeland of Israel and working the land as our ancestors did.
In
Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook (1870-1935), the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, spoke of the deeper meaning of planting fruit trees in Israel:
“The planting of fruit trees in the Land of Israel is not just an ordinary planting. It is a way in which we cling to the mitzvot of God, for He has been involved in planting and growing things on this earth from the Beginning… Planting was the first thing that God did after He created the world. It says: ‘The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the East’ (Genesis 2:8). So too, when you enter the Land of Israel, the first thing you should be doing is planting."
Celebrating Tu B'Shvat, Nature & Ecology
Another way to mark Tu B'Shvat holiday is to spend time focused on the natural world. Go out hiking, work in your garden, go out for a picnic with family or friends. All of these are ways to enjoy the natural world and to increase our awareness of the God-given gift of Creation.
Tu B'Shvat can be used as a powerful time to strengthen our commitment to taking better care of our planet. The Torah says that God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden “לְעָבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ”, to “work and protect it” (Genesis 2:15).
The basic job of human beings is to be stewards of the Earth. We make the most use of it, and it is our responsibility to protect it.
What Does Tu B'Shvat Mean Today?
We’ve seen a broad spectrum of customs and approaches to Tu B'Shvat. We have the Biblical agriculture laws, Kabbalists tying together different parts of Creation, environmentalists working to take better care of our planet, Israelis enjoying the sights and tastes of nature. How does it all tie together? Is there a way to tap into these different layers of Tu B'Shvat and make it meaningful for us today?
Check out this Tu B'Shvat video for a fresh and mind-blowing perspective that touches on all of these layers of meaning. It will infuse your day with deep significance, even if you’re not growing oranges in your backyard or bringing fruit offerings to the Beit Hamikdash. Enjoy!
Shehechiyanu – The Blessing Over a New Fruit
This blessing is said when one experiences joy over something new. It can be said when eating a fruit for the first time in a season (or in one’s life!), or when one buys a special new piece of clothing or furniture. It’s also said on the festivals to commemorate the special mitzvot that are fulfilled only once a year.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָינוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמָן הַזֶּה.
Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, shehechiyanu vekiyemanu vehigiyanu lazman hazeh.
Blessed are You God, our Lord, King of the Universe, who has given us life and sustained us and caused us to arrive to this moment.
Why In the World Do We Celebrate Tu B'Shvat?
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