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Tu B'shvat: The New Year for Trees
Tu B'Shvat (the fifteenth day in the month of Shvat) has always been one of the most beloved minor Jewish holidays. It is a celebration of the relationship of God with His people as expressed by the blessings that He bestowed on the land. Today, when so many Jewish people seek to heighten the spirituality of their lives, by deepening their bonds with Israel, this holiday assumes renewed purpose.
Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that Tu B’Shvat is discussed in both the Mishna and the Talmud, comparatively little information is available about the holiday. The origin of Tu B’shvat is elucidated in the Mishna (the six orders of the Oral Tradition), tractate Rosh Hashana. The very first verse says, “There are four New Years: On the first of the month 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; on the first of Tishrei (Rosh HaShanah) is the New Year for the counting of the years, for Shmitta (sabbatical years), for the Jubilee; and on the first of Shevat is the New Year for Trees, according to the view of the School of Shammai. But the School of Hillel says, on the fifteenth of Shevat.
Tu B'Shvat is the New Year
for trees. A special Tu B’Shvat Seder was formulated in the mid 1500’s
by the
students of the Holy Ari
- Rabbi Isaac Luria. They saw the seder as an opportunity to restore
their spiritual connection with the Four Worlds of the Kabbalah. It was
set up along the lines of the Passover Seder. White tablecloths were placed
on the tables with light of candles glowing. Incense, preferably myrtle,
which is harvested during Succot, is placed on the tables. Similarly, flowers
were used to decorate the tables and to give the air a pleasant fragrance.
What does that mean, a "New
Year" for the trees? Do trees make resolutions on that day? Do trees dip
their
apples in honey and ask
for a sweet year? This New Year for Trees is related to the biblical tithe
on fruits. Fruits which ripen and are picked from the trees up until the
15th of Shevat get counted for tithing that year, and the fruit picked
from the trees after Tu Bishvat get counted for the following year. These
two groups must be kept separate - one must not take fruit of the previous
year and pass it off as tithes for the following year.
Today, Tu B’Shvat is celebrated
in numerous ways: By planting trees, by eating fruit, especially fruit
that is
indigenous to Israel, ,
by doing some special project for the environment, by collecting
funds to plant trees in Israel or by observing the day with a "Tu B’Shvat
Seder
The mystical Seder of Tu B'shvat revolves around the Four Worlds of the Kabbalah. These worlds are the mystic’s conception of the structure of reality— descending in stages from the spiritual to the material. Not unlike the Passover seder, four cups of wine are consumed to recognize each of the four worlds. Fruits of the trees are to be eaten, and designated according to each world. For Atzilut, the world of emanation, the completely nonphysical aspect of the universe, no fruit is consumed; for Briah, the world of creation, fruits that have neither a pit on the inside nor shells on the outside are chosen (grapes, fig, apples, citrons, lemons, pears, blueberries, raspberries, quinces, carobs). The world of Yetzirah, the world of formation, is signified by fruits that have a pit on the inside, but the outside can be eaten (olives, dates, cherries, jujubes, persimmons, apricots, peaches, loquats, plums, hackberries) Finally Assiah, the world of action, the tangible world, encompasses fruits that have a shell which must be discarded, but the inside may be eaten (pomegranates, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, coconuts, Brazil nuts, pistachios, pecans).
Families most often compose
their own versions of Tu B’shvat seders. They generally follow the format
of four cups of wine beginning with white wine (the most spiritual of colors)
for the first cup and gradating, by adding bits of red wine, to shades
on pink, with a ruby pink (a color representing earth) for the last cup.
A minimum of four appropriate fruits is selected based on the verse in
Deuteronomy 8:8: “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig
trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey”. Following the
pouring of each cup of wine, a biblical verse is read appropriate to the
fruit. The fruit is eaten followed by the proper blessing. The blessing
for wine is recited and the cup is consumed. Some families choose to
insert the “she’hechianu” into their seders, the prayer to thank God for
keeping us alive and together at this season.
Regardless of how you choose
to celebrate Tu B’shvat, this lovely little holiday in the middle of winter
brings with it the promise of renewal at just the time when the sap in
the trees is roused to awaken before spring. Happy Jewish Arbor Day!