Tu B'Shevat
Tu B'Shevat is a festival celebrated by Jews everywhere. It symbolizes our love for Israel and shows our feelings for trees and plants as living, fruitful things. Tu B'Shevat can also remind us that, when God created the world, He gave us the responsibility to nature and care for all His wonderful gifts.
Tu B'Shevat in History
Tu B'Shevat, the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, corresponds with January/February on the Gregorian calendar. This holiday is known as Jewish Arbor Day or the New Year of the Trees.
The name for this day can be found in the Talmud, but long before that the Torah showed the way. For example, the Bible says that fruit trees may not be cut down even in time of war (Deuteronomy 20) and the Torah itself is called the "tree of life" (Proverbs 3:18). There are many references to trees in the Bible which show our love of trees and how they were used in matters of religious importance. In biblical Palestine, when people were married, branches were cut and used to build the huppah, the traditional wedding canopy.
Originally a nature festival, the 15th day of Shevat had no religious significance before the 1st century B.C.E. However, by the 17th century, mystics had seen profound meaning in the verse, "For is the tree of the field man?" (Deuteronomy 20:19), and they began developing a special ceremonial for the New Year of the Tree when, winter half over, the sap begins to rise and the first buds appear.
Among Askenazim (Jews who settled in middle and northern Europe after the Diaspora), this meant eating fruit identified with the land of Israel, but among Sephardim (Jews from Asia Minor, Spain or Portugal before the Inquisition or their descendants) a ritual developed in which fifteen different fruits accompanied four glasses of wine and appropriate readings from the Bible, the Zohar and the Talmud. A Seder of Tu B'Shevat, including readings in Hebrew, Aramaic and Ladino, called Pri Etz Hadar ("Fruit of the Goodly Tree") was eventually published in Laverno, Italy, in 1758.
The Importance of Trees
References to Trees in the Bible
- Cedar
- And Solomon built the Temple and finished it...and he built the walls with boards of cedar...all was cedar; there was no stone at al.. Kings 6:14, 16, 18
- Willow
- By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows... Psalms 137:1, 2
- Palm
- Take on the first day (of Sukkot) the branches of palm trees...and dwell in booths seven days. Leviticus 23:40, 41
- Citron
- On Sukkot...take the fruit of the beautiful trees...this is the fragrant citron or etrog. Leviticus 23, 40
- Cypress
- And King David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all kinds of instruments made of cypress or fir wood, on harps and on drums. II Samuel 6:5
- Gopher
- And God said to Noah: Make an ark of gopher-wood...and come into the ark with your son's wives...and of every living thing bring two of each sort into the ark... Genesis 6:14, 18, 19
- Fig
- Adam and Eve sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons. Genesis 3:7
- Olive
- The Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: Command the children of Israel to bring pure olive oil, beaten fort he Menorah, to cause a light to burn always in the tabernacle of your congregation. Exodus 27:20, 21
- Carob
- In the day of Bar Kochba; a great teacher named Simeon Bar Yohai refused to follow the Roman decree against the study of the Torah. He continued to teach his pupils, though his life was in danger. AT last he had to flee. He hid in a cave in the mountains of Galilee. For 13 years he lived in this hideaway. According to legend, the carob tree grew up at the mouth of the cave so that the scholar might have food.
In Modern Israel
Though most of Israel is desert, any existing woodlands were largely ravished by the ruling Turks at the beginning of the 20th century to supply their new wood-burning railroad. Trees were needed to provide shade in the desert, to supply a source of wood and crops and to aid in land conservation. Since 1948 over 80 million trees have been planted.
This monumental task has been accomplished through the planting of tree seedlings at the sites of new forests by Israeli school children and under the auspices of the Jewish National Fund, an organization dedicated to helping Israel reclaim her land through United States donations which support the planting of trees.
In Israel today, Tu B'Shevat marks the end of the rainy season. In 1949, on the first Tu B'Shevat of the Jewish state, thousands of people gathered to plant life-giving trees in a forest which will one day contain six million trees—the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust. It is named the "Forest of the Martyrs."
We are also reminded of how Israel has bloomed under the loving care of the halutzim (the pioneers) and subsequent generations. Jewish settlers have worked wonders of reclamation in the cool northern regions of Galilee, in the hot waterless plains of the Negav and in the tropical coastal areas.
Jewish farmers introduced grapefruit and varieties of oranges into Israel. They developed crop rotation so that the soil would not become worn out and barren from growing the same plants over and over.
A quarter of a century ago there were few vegetables grown in Israel because the soil was too dry. Pioneers sank wells to tap underground water sources. Today there are thousands of acres of truck farms. Agricultural miracles have been worked using innovative irrigation and drip methods, the use of brackish and desalinized water, and greenhouses.
When you visit Israel, you will find a great variety of wonderful growing things. Apples and pears grow in the cooler regions, Galilean farms produce peaches and apricots, the Jordan valley specializes in groves of bananas, persimmon, avocado and papaya. Along the shore of the Mediterranean, a large citrus belt, oranges, grapefruits and lemons flourish.
Customs: Ancient and Faraway
Many customs grew up around Tu B'Shevat. In ancient Palestine a cedar or cypress tree was planted when a boy or a girl, respectively, were born. The cedar represented height and strength, the cypress tenderness and fragrance. Between birth and marriage, they cared for their own trees, Branches from the trees were then used to support their bridal canopy when the married, for good luck.
When the Jewish people were forced to leave the Holy Land, they did not forget Tu B'Shevat. In the villages of Russia and Poland, after heder (Hebrew school), the children snacked on bags of fruit brought from home that reminded them of Zion—dates, figs, raisins and bokser, the dry fruit of the carob tree.
Other unusual customs developed. In Kurdestan, raisins and other sweet fruits used to be placed in a ring around trees on Tu B'Shevat. The people prayed for an abundant fruit harvest and for the birth of many children.
In 16th century Palestine, some communities drank four cups of wine on Tu B'Shevat. The first was white to symbolize winter; the second was light red for spring; the third, deep red for summer. The fourth was red mixed with white to symbolize fall.
Another custom was observed on Tu B'Shevat long ago in Safad, Israel, where the people would do their best to sample at least fifteen (for "hamishah asar," which equals 15) kinds of fruit. The holiday can be called Hamishah Asar B'Shevat or Tu B'Shevat—tu is represented by the Hebrew letters tet (or 9) and vav (or 6), which equal 15.
Sephardic Jews of the 16th century had a Ma-ot Perot fund—money collected to provide fruit for the poor on Tu B'Shevat.
Tu B'Shevat Seder
Mid-winter is the perfect time for a celebration of spring and the renewal of life. This seder is an old/new tradition. In the 16th century Kabbalists first created this minhag (custom) by gathering on the eve of Tu B'Shevat for singing, dancing and fruit tasting. Although the manner of presentation may vary, the basic elements of a Tu B'Shevat seder are the same. Always present should be a wonderful feeling of participation in a special holiday ritual.
The seder table is set with fruits and nuts, a loaf of bread and the four wines—white, white mixed with a bit of red, red and red mixed with a bit of white as described earlier Grape juice can be substituted. The fruits are divided into three "categories." The first category is representative of our simple physical being. These are fruits that have a protective, inedible shell, as our bodies are a shell for the soul. The second category are fruits with an inedible pit or seed and represent a slightly higher level of spirituality, where the heart is protected or inaccessible. The third category are totally edible fruits (both inside and out) and symbolize the highest level of spirituality closest to the highest form of creation. Most people try to eat (or at least taste!) from 15 to 30 varieties from all three categories.
Four glasses of wine are consumed at intervals during the seder. Songs, blessings and readings are an important part of the seder, which can be designed for adults or families with young or older children. An English version of the traditional seder can be found in Trees, Earth, and Torah: A Tu B'Shvat Anthology by Ari Elon, probably the best resource on this holiday available.
| TU B'SHEVAT SEDER FRUITS
Fruit with an inedible shell or peel
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Resource Books
- The Jewish Holidays: A Guide & Commentary by Michael Strassfeld
- The Book of the Jewish Year by Stephen M. Wylen
- The First Jewish Catalog by Richard Siegel et al., editors
- All About Jewish Holidays and Customs by Morris Epstein
- Jewish Days and Holidays by Greer Fay Cashman
- The Jewish Party Book by Mae Shafter Rockland
- Trees, Earth, and Torah: A Tu B'Shvat Anthology by Ari Elon
- Seder Tu Bishevat: The Festival of Trees by Adama Fisher
- A Seder for Tu B'Shevat by Harlene Winnick Appelman
Books for Children
- The Kids' Catalog of Jewish Holidays by David A. Adler
- A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry
- Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shevat by Sylvia A. Rouss