Excerpt from the book "Remember, Observe, Rejoice" © Petra van der Zande
"As others
have planted for you, so you will plant for your children."
Leviticus Rabbah,
28
Tu B’shvat, the 15th of the Hebrew
month of Shvat (end of January, beginning of February) is not mentioned
in the Bible. However, the Mishnah (part of the Talmud),
describes it as the "New Year for trees". Israel’s rainy season is
usually over by now, but people still hope for the blessing of the "latter
rain". This holiday marks the revival of nature, which is symbolized by
the budding of the almond tree.
Leviticus 19 tells us what was
expected from the Israelites when they entered the Promised Land:
“When you come to the land and you
plant a tree, you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for 3 years it will be
forbidden and not eaten. In the fourth year, all of its fruit shall be
sanctified to praise the Lord. In the 5th year you may eat its
fruit.” (NIV)
Having a specific date as the New
Year for trees also helped with the law of tithing – 1/10th of the
farmer’s fruit had to be donated to the priests.
Biblical tithes were:
- Orlah - refers to a biblical prohibition (Leviticus 19:23) on eating the fruit of trees produced during the first three years after they are planted.
- Neta Reva'i - refers to the biblical commandment (Leviticus 19:24) to bring fourth-year fruit crops to Jerusalem as a tithe.
- Ma'aser Sheni - was a tithe which was eaten in Jerusalem.
- Ma'aser Ani - was a tithe given to the poor (Deuteronomy 14:22-29) that were also calculated by whether the fruit ripened before or after Tu B'shvat.
During the Second Temple period it
was customary to plant a tree when a child was born - a cedar for a boy
(referring to its height and strength), and a cypress (smaller and fragrant)
for a girl. When the child married, the wood of the tree was used to make the chuppah,
the wedding canopy.
Throughout the ages, the diverse
Jewish communities in the Diaspora developed all kinds of customs to celebrate
this day. In the beginning of the 19th century, when the first
Jewish settlers began to redeem Eretz Israel, part of their work was to
plant trees on the barren and eroded hills.
On Tu B'shvat, January 25,
1890, Rabbi Zeev Yavetz and his students set a good example by planting trees
in the agricultural colony of Zichron Ya’akov.
The idea to plant trees on Tu
B'shvat, was in 1908 adopted by the Jewish Teachers Union and later by the
Jewish National Fund (Keren haKayemet leIsrael), who, amongst other
endeavours, began to oversee the forestation of the Land of Israel.
Many of Israel’s major institutions
have chosen this day for their inauguration ceremonies.
The cornerstone of the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem was placed on Tu B'shvat 1918, and the first
stone of Haifa’s Technion was laid on the same day in 1925. The first Jewish
parliament of the Jewish sovereign State chose to hold its first Knesset
session on Tu B'shvat 1949.
On Tu b’Shvat it is
customary to eat the types of dried fruit mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8 (the
Seven Species). Some Orthodox Jews make candy from their Etrog (one of
“Four Species” during Sukkot) and eat it during Tu B'Shvat.
Tu B'shvat is sometimes called the Jewish
Arbour day.
The highlight of the holiday is planting a new sapling in the soil
of Eretz Israel, the Jewish homeland.
