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TU B'SHEVAT
What is Tu B'Shevat? Any
answer ought to start from the same place that all of our Jewish tradition flows
from: Torah and Talmud. The
Torah doesn't mention the date, but it is a subject in Tractate Rosh Hashanah.
In fact, the tractate opens up with the following words: "There
are four new years. On the first of Nissan is the New Year for kings and for
festivals. On the first of Elul is the New Year for the tithe of animals. R
Eliazar and R Shimon say on the 1st of Tishrei. On the 1st of Tishrei is the New
Year for the years, for the Shmitta (Sabbatical) and Yovel (Jubilee) years, for
the sapling and for the vegetables. On the 1st of Shevat is the New Year for the
tree according to Beit Shammai, Beit Hillel say on the 15th." O.K.
So it's a new year for trees. What does that tell us? Well,
tithing is a pretty important concept regarding produce in Israel. Without
getting into all the complications of it, suffice it to say that tithing is on a
seven-year cycle (the seventh year is the "Shmitta" year, where we are
not allowed to grow anything in the land of Israel), and different years require
different tithes, and you are not allowed to pay the tithe of one year with
produce from a different year. Later
in the Talmud (RH 14b), we read the following rule: "If one picked fruit
from an esrog tree on the eve of the 15th of Shevat before the sun went down,
and he then picked more of its fruit after the sun went down, we may not
separate the tithes from one batch for the other... either from the new crop for
the old or from the old crop for the new one..." So,
the 15th of Shevat marks the end and the beginning of the "fiscal
year" for trees. By
the 11th century, we can read from the writings of Rebbenu Gershom (he is
probably most well known as the one who issued the decree that a Jew may not
marry two wives) that one may not fast on that day, just as we may not fast on
Rosh Hashanah. By
the 18th century we read in "Kaf HaChayim" that erev Tu B'Shevat there
is a custom for special learning, for learning Mishna, Zohar, and to make
blessings on fruits and eating it. So,
clearly, there is some religious significance to the day. But what is it? Before
we look into that question, we must digress and talk about Jewish holidays in
general. Jewish tradition posits that time is both linear (we are progressing)
and circular (that each time of the year has a spiritual similarity to the same
point in the other years). And so, just like a place can be holy, a particular
time, being simply another dimension, can be holy. Just like a place can have a
certain attribute, a particular time can have a certain attribute. To
put it in larger terms, Jewish holidays are not a re-enactment of an event, or
simply a memorial or remembrance of an event, but rather it celebrates an
appropriate time for a particular aspect of human growth. Let
me give an example: The 10th of Tishrei (Yom Kippur), according to Jewish
tradition, is a propitious time for atonement. In fact, that day is so
spiritually full of atonement that a Jew atones for his sins during the year
simply by living through that day. (That doesn't mean to blow off Yom Kippur,
however -- for Yom Kippur alone does not atone for sins committed on Yom
Kippur!) Thus, it is no coincidence that G-d forgave the Jewish people for the
sin of the golden calf on the 10th of Tishrei. So
now the question becomes: what is it about the 15th of Shevat and Trees that
should relate to us? Consider
the following: Trees
are often a metaphor for humans. Many of us have heard the injunction that
during war one may lay siege to a town, but one may not cut down the trees. The
entire verse, Deut. 20:19, reads: "When you lay siege to a city for many
days to capture it by making war against it, you shall not destroy its tree,
wielding an axe against it; for you shall eat of it but not cut it down; for man
is a tree of the field..." Man
is a tree? (I
should hasten to point out that halachically speaking, and you can see in this
verse where it comes from, that one is only prohibited from cutting down trees
that bear fruit!) In
Tractate Ta'anit (7a) we read: Rabbi Zeira explained the strange verse "Ki
ha'Adam Eitz ha'Sadeh" (for a man is a tree in the field) with the
seemingly contradictory verse there "Ki Mimenu Sochel, ve'Oso Lo
Sichros" (for you shall eat of it and not cut it down) -- that if he is a
worthy teacher, then eat from him (learn from him). Otherwise, destroy him and
cut him down. Others
consider the fruit of one's "tree" as the mitzvot that we do. And,
indeed, trees are often a metaphor for Torah. The most famous expression of this
is in Proverbs (3:18): "It is a tree of life for those who hold fast to
it." I'd
like to bring in one other tradition about Shevat: In
Jewish tradition, the entire book of Deuteronomy was Moshe's last speech, and he
gave it over the last 5 weeks of his life. Tradition posits that he started on
the 1st of Shevat. It is said that the average person who was there and
listening to it began to feel spiritual growth on the 15th of Shevat -- Tu
B'Shevat. (It occurs to me, I wonder if the dispute about the "new year for
trees" between Beit Shammai (who asserted it was on the 1st) and Beit
Hillel (who asserted it was on the 15th is related to this ... ?). So,
tying it all together: We
see that the 15th of Shevat is an important growth period for trees. We also see
that trees, in our tradition, are related to both Torah and to mankind, and that
the 15th of Shevat was a time when there was major spiritual growth among Jews. So,
Tu B'Shevat is a time for Jews to focus on "the Tree" -- the Tree of
Torah and the Tree of our own spiritual growth, and our potential for growth. (From torah.org)
Tu B'Shevat Although
we are all familiar with the Rosh
HaShanah,
the "Head of the Year," which occurs in the Fall, there are actually
four Rosh HaShanah's which define, to an extent, the Hebrew calendar. They are
as follows: 1.
First of Nisan
- This is the month about which Moshe was commanded in Egypt, "This month
shall be considered by you as the First of the Months; it is the First for you
of the months of the year." Historically, this was the month of the Exodus
from Egypt, the beginning of Jewish national history. It
is considered the "first" for the purpose of counting the Festivals of
the Hebrew Calendar, and reckoning of the years of reign of the Kings of Israel.
Thus, the Festival occurring in Nisan, Passover,
is considered the First Festival. With regard to the reign of kings, if a
particular king began his reign in the month before Nisan, then in Nisan, he is
considered to be in the second year of his reign. 2.
First of Elul
- Elul is considered the "first" of the months regarding the practice
of "Maasrot," or tithing (the prescribed donations of one tenth of
various totals) found in the Torah; this one, in particular, referring to
cattle. The law is that cattle born before the first of Elul, are considered
separately from cattle born after the first of Elul, and the "tenth"
for each year is determined on the basis of that year's group alone. Since this
"tenth" of animals had the status of sacrifices in the Temple, in our
time, since the Temple has not yet been rebuilt, this law has no practical
application. Once the Temple is rebuilt in Yerushalayim, this Rosh HaShanah will
regain its significance. 3.
First of Tishrei
- This is the Rosh HaShanah of the Fall, the one we are most familiar with. The
reason we are most familiar with it is that it is on this day that Divine
Justice is meted out to all individuals and to all nations. It is the date on
which the cases of all of G-d's creatures come up before the Heavenly Court for
a ten-day "trial" beginning on Rosh
HaShanah,
which is the first day of the Ten Days of Repentance, and climaxing on the Tenth
of Tishrei with the Day of Atonement, Yom
Kippur,
when the fate of each one is sealed. This
date also serves in determining the beginnings of two other innovations of the
Hebrew Calendar: the Shemitah
(Sabbatical) Year and the Yovel (Jubilee) Year. 4.
Fifteenth
of Shevat - "Tu B'Shevat" First,
as to the word "Tu," pronounced "too" in the name "Tu
B'Shevat." "Tu" is constructed from the Hebrew letters
"tet" and "vav." "Tet" is the ninth letter in the
Hebrew alphabet; "vav" is the sixth. Nine + Six = Fifteen. This
is the Rosh HaShanah for trees. Again, as mentioned above in connection with the
"First of Elul" Rosh HaShanah, the significance is primarily in
connection with "Maasrot," tithing, or taking tenths. The dates of
ripening of different agricultural species, say wheat, on one hand, and apples
and oranges representing the "fruit-of-the-tree" group, are different.
Also, since one may not calculate the "tenth" for a given year using
produce from a different year, it is important to know the calendar definitions
of ripening which apply to the various species. Our
Sages have designated the 15th of Shevat as the boundary, for trees, between one
year and another, since most of the rains of the previous year, in the Land
of Israel, have already fallen. A certain percentage of the fruit has
reached the stage of "begun to ripen." This is defined as from the
time of blossoming until the fruit has reached one
third of its full growth. Fruit which have reached this stage are attributed
to the previous year. Any new blossoming of fruit after this day is a result of
the blessings of the new year. Special
Note: The earliest-ripening fruit is the "shekadiah," the
"almond," in honor of which the following famous song was composed: "HaShekadiah
Porachat, VeShemesh Paz Zorachat. Tzipporim Me'Rosh kol Gag, Mevasrot et Bo
HaChag." The
Almond has blossomed, and the Sun is Shining Brightly. Birds from Every
Roof-Top, welcome the Arrival of the Holiday. A
Weekday Rosh HaShana Although
the 15th of Shevat is called Rosh HaShanah, the designation applies
only to the matter of tithes that are due from fruit of the trees. Work is not
prohibited, and there are no required festive meals, and no special prayers
added to the regular prayer services. Nevertheless, the day is invested with a
festive sense. Tachanun is not said. Eulogies are not delivered for the dead,
and if it falls on Shabbat, Av Harachamim is not said (since Av Harachamim
recalls the souls of the dead.) It is customary to eat a new fruit from the Land
of Israel of which one had not yet partaken the present year, so that the
"bracha" or "blessing" of SheHecheyanu may be said. The
reason for the festive mood of the Rosh Hashanah of trees is that the 15th of
Shevat recalls the praise of the
Land of Israel, for on this day the strength of the soil of the land is renewed.
With reference to the fruits of the trees and the produce of the soil, the Torah
praises the Land of Israel: "A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig
trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey" (Devarim 8). Another
reason for the special observance of the 15th of Shevat is that the
time of Rosh Hashanah for the trees is also a time of prayer and judgment
concerning the trees. Whenever any of His creatures begins to grow, G-d surveys
its entire future. So it is proper, at such a time, to pray that the new
creature or being might prosper. The
Torah has compared Man to a tree of the field; hence this day also recalls the
Divine judgment upon man. For such is the character of the people of Israel,
that they rejoice on a day of judgment. Whatever the decision is, let all see
that "there is a law and that there is a Judge." The Torah is the law,
and G-d is the Judge. |
