Tu B'Shevat - New Year for Trees

Tu' B'Shevat  or Jewish Arbor Day is the New Year or birthday of all Trees.  It is celebrated with the full moon in the Hebrew month of Shevat.  This year that falls on Tuesday, January 30th.

We know trees provide us with shade, food, wood, warmth, and protection. But trees are also central to religious practice around the world - the Celts, Druids, Buddhists, and yes the Jews; all through the Torah, trees are mentioned, from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to the tree under which Jonah slept. Long before the Mogen David, the original symbol of Judaism in ancient times was the seven or nine branched Menorah which is based on a two-dimensional representation of a tree.
Tu B'Shevat is not mentioned in the Torah, but, in the Mishnah.  Hillel settled a dispute as to the proper date for the New Year of the Trees and he decided it should be the 15th of Shevat, the full moon, and the end of the rainy season in Israel. Tu B'Shevat is the New Year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing, as in Leviticus 19:23-5 which states that fruits from trees may not be eaten during the first three years' the fourth year's fruit is for G-d, and after the fifth year, the fruit is yours.

VBI is holding our annual Tu B'Shevat Seder with our Shabbat service on Friday, February 10th!  Be sure to mark your calendar and make reservations for this special evening.  All Hebrew school children will be in attendance.

The observance of Tu B'Shevat is to plant a tree or to collect money to plant a tree in Israel. Some children plant the bitter herb or the parsley greens in anticipation of and for the Passover Seder. Another custom is to eat from the Seven Species described in the Bible as being abundant in the land of Israel - wheat, barley, grapes (vine), figs, pomegranates, olives and dates (honey) as in Deuteronomy 8:8. Although we as humans celebrate our New Year on Rosh Hoshanah, we as humans attach special significance to his holiday because in Deuteronomy 20:19, we are compared to "the tree of the field" - through cultivating strong roots, as in faith and commitment to G-d, we produce many good "fruits" - Torah and Mitzvot. 

In the 16th century, Kabbalists developed a seder ritual conceptually similar to the Passover seder discussing the spiritual significance of fruits and of the Seven Species. We have celebrated this seder in our synagogue with the different fruits and juices. Enjoy this holiday, and the fruits of your endeavors!

Mrs. M.R.S. Gradvohl