Tu Bishvat

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Tu Bishvat

Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel
Official name	Hebrew: ט"ו בשבט
Also called	Translation: 15 Shevat; New Year for Trees, Hamishah Asar BeShevat
Observed by	Judaism and Jews
Type	Jewish
Significance	The fruits that grew from Tu Bishvat on were counted for the following year's tithes
Date	15 Shevat
2006 date	February 13
2007 date	February 3
Observances	Planting trees, Eating fruits, Family gatherings, Reflection
Related to	Rosh Hashanah, the new year for the Jewish calendar

Tu Bishvat (or Tu Bi'Shevat) (ט"ו בשבט) is a minor Jewish holiday (meaning there are no restrictions on working) and one of the four Rosh Hashanahs ("New Years") mentioned in the Mishnah, the basis of the Talmud. Tu Bishvat is the Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot (ראש השנה לאילנות ) "new year of the trees". The name Tu Bishvat comes from the date of the holiday, the 15th day of Shevat (שבט). Shevat is the name of a Hebrew calendar month and ט"ו, read as "Tu," is how the number 15 is represented by Hebrew numerals using the Hebrew alphabet. Haredi Jews call the day by its original full name, Hamishah Asar BeShevat (חמישה-עשר בשבט) - "The Fifteenth of Shevat".

A Tu Bishvat favorite food: Raisins are derived from grapes

1 History
2 Customary fruits
3 Fruits of the Torah and Israel
4 The Tu Bishvat Seder
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

Tu Bishvat was originally a day when the fruits that grew from that day on, were counted for the following year regarding tithes. (This is according to the school of Hillel, while according to the school of Shamai that day is the first of Shevat (Mishnah, Tractate Rosh Hashana 1:1).

There is a Hasidic tradition for one to pray on Tu Bishvat for a kosher Etrog (citron) to be used in the four species held during Hallel prayers on Sukkot. In conjunction with this practice, many Hassidic Jews eat etrog on this day. Note: The citron pictured here does not have the pitom tip at its bottom that is favored by many.

During the Middle Ages or possibly a little before that, this day started to be celebrated with a minor ceremony of eating fruits, since the Mishnah called it "Rosh Hashanah" ("New Year"), and that was later understood as being a time appropriate for celebration.

During 1600s in the Land of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed and his disciples created a short Tu Bishvat seder, somewhat like the Passover seder, that evokes the holiday's Kabbalistic themes. There is a Hasidic tradition that on this day a devout Jew should pray for a kosher etrog (the citron) that is part of the four species of trees used on the major festival of Sukkot.

In modern times Tu Bishvat has become popular with many Jews, and is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Jewish schools, synagogues and communities. The main activity is planting trees in open places in Israel.

The tradition to plant trees started in 1890 when the teacher and writer Zeev Yabetz went out with his students in a school in Zichron Yaakov for a festive planting. This iniative was adopted in 1908 by the Israeli Teachers trade union and later on by the Land Development Authority (Hakeren Hakayemet L’Israel).

[edit] Customary fruits

It is customary to eat different types of fruit on this holiday and to recite the appropriate blessings. Many people also eat all kinds of dried fruit as well, such as raisins and nuts,

Traditionally, these types of fruit are:

Foremost are the Seven Species associated with the Land of Israel in the Torah, according to Deuteronomy 8:8 :

Fruits and nuts with hard, inedible exteriors and soft edible insides, such as oranges, bananas, walnuts, and pistachios.
Fruits and nuts with soft exteriors, but with a hard pit inside, such as dates, apricots, olives and persimmons
Fruit that is eaten whole, such as figs and berries.

Many have the custom of eating candied etrog.

In addition, Kabbalistic tradition teaches that eating these fruits somehow creates a connection with the more abstract Tree of Life that God placed in the Garden of Eden as mentioned in the Book of Genesis where Adam and Eve had been placed after their creation.

[edit] Fruits of the Torah and Israel

Fruits to eat on Tu Bishvat that are associated with the Torah and the Land of Israel:

Dried Carob fruit, bottom, is a Tu Bishvat favorite, though not one of the seven blessed fruits of the Land of Israel

[edit] The Tu Bishvat Seder

The Tu bishvat seder is a kabbalistic way to celebrate the holiday. Some friends are invited to the house, and various symbolic offerings are made. Wine and fruit are enjoyed, and there is a discussion on the four main aspects of the holiday (physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual) and how they relate to the four themes of the seder (social, cosmic, national, ecological). The seder host may choose one aspect of one theme to concentrate on.