Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat | |
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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 |
2008 date | January 22 |
Observances | Planting trees, Eating fruits, Family gatherings, Reflection |
Related to | Rosh Hashanah, the new year for the Hebrew calendar |
Tu Bishvat (or Tu B'Shvat) (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. It is sometimes referred to by its full name, Hamishah Asar BeShevat (חמישה-עשר בשבט), "The Fifteenth of Shevat".
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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 Shammai that day is the first of Shevat (Mishnah, Tractate Rosh Hashana 1:1).
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 the 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 and Sefardic 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.
![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.](https://web.archive.org/web/20070809094532im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Citrus_medicus_fruit.jpg/180px-Citrus_medicus_fruit.jpg)
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. Thus the holiday today quite resembles Arbor Day as celebrated in other parts of the world.
The tradition of planting trees started in 1890 when the teacher and writer 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). This practice is shunned by most Orthodox Jews due to its secular origin. [citation needed]
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.
Only strawberries weren't eaten
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.
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 |
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.
See also
External links
- Holiday of Trees
- Materials from Torah.org
- Materials from Aish haTorah
- Tu Bishvat from the Israeli Knesset website
- Fruit For Thought for Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for Trees chabad.org
- Customs and B'rachas for Tu B'Shevat
- Judaism 101 Description of Tu B'Shevat
- Kolel > Jewish Holidays > Tu B'Shevat
- To Plant Trees in Israel with the Jewish National Fund
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Jewish holidays |
Shabbat · Rosh Chodesh · Rosh Hashanah · Fast of Gedalia · Yom Kippur · Sukkot and Hoshana Rabbah · Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah · Hanukkah · Tenth of Tevet · Tu Bishvat · Fast of Esther and Purim · Fast of the Firstborn and Pesach · Counting of the Omer · Pesach Sheni · Lag Ba'omer · Shavuot · 17th of Tammuz · The Three Weeks · The Nine Days · Tisha B'Av · Tu B'Av |
Hebrew calendar months | Tishrei · (Mar)cheshvan · Kislev · Tevet · Shevat · Adar · Nisan · Iyar · Sivan · Tammuz · Av · Elul |