Tu B'Shevat

The New Year for Trees

Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the month of Shevat, is a holiday also known as the New Year for Trees. The word "Tu" is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July "Iv July" (IV being 4 in Roman numerals).

Judaism has several different "new years." In halakha, four different New Years are observed: Rosh Hashanah (the first of Tishrei), the first of Nisan (when the Exodus began), the first of Elul, and Tu BiShvat (the fifteenth of Shevat).

Why the fifteenth of Shevat?

“There are four new years... the first of Shevat is the new year for trees according to the ruling of Beit Shammai; Beit Hillel, however, places it on the fifteenth of that month.”

(Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1)

Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. See Lev. 19:23-25,.

23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the L-RD withal.

25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the L-RD your G-d.

We see here scripture states that fruit from trees may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is for G-d, and after that, you can eat the fruit. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B'Shevat, so if you planted a tree on Shevat 14, it begins its second year the next day, but if you plant a tree two days later, on Shevat 16, it does not reach its second year until the next Tu B'Shevat.

Tu B'Shevat is not mentioned in the Torah, and has only one reference to it in the Mishnah, and it only states that it is the new year for trees. As already stated above there is a dispute as to the proper date for the holiday (Beit Shammai said the proper day was the first of Shevat; were as Beit Hillel said the proper day was the 15th of Shevat. we follow Beit Hillel.

-Customs-

There are but a few customs or observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day, or to eat from The Seven Species (shivat haminim) described in the Bible as being abundant in the land of Israel , See Deut. 8:8.

-The Shivat Haminim are-

Wheat,
Barley,
Grapes (vines)
Figs,
Pomegranates
Olives
Dates (honey) (Deut. 8:8).

Additionally some plant trees on this day. In my childhood, Jewish children commonly went around collecting money to plant trees in Israel at this time of year.

A seder ritual conceptually similar to the Pesach (Passover) seder was created by kabbalists around the 16th century. The focus is on discussing the spiritual significance of fruits and of the shivat haminim. This custom is primarily in Sephardic communities, but has found it place as well with in the Ashkenazic communities.

-Tashlikh-

There is a ritual that is performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah by most Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews (but not by Spanish and Portuguese Jews or some Yemenites, as well as those who follow the practices of the Vilna Gaon). This ritual is called tashlikh.

It is our custom that prayers are recited near natural flowing water, and one's sins are symbolically cast into the water. Additionaly some includ the custom to throw bread or pebbles into the water, to symbolize the "casting off" of sins. It’s important to note that in some communities, if the first day of Rosh Hashanah occurs on Shabbat, tashlikh is postponed until the second day.

The traditional service for tashlikh is recited individually and includes the the following prayers.

Micah 7:18-19 "Who is like unto you, O G-d… And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea”.
Isaiah 11:9 "They will not injure nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be as full of the knowledge of the L-rd as the waters cover the sea"
Psalms 118:5–9
Psalms 121
Psalms 130

Tashlikh can be performed any time until Hoshana Rabba, and some Hasidic communities perform Tashlikh on the day before Yom Kippur.

-Greetings-

The Common greeting on Rosh Hashanah is Shanah Tovah (Hebrew: שנה טובה; pronounced in many Ashkenazic communities and pronounced Sa’na to’ve in Israeli and Sephardic communities, which translated from Hebrew means "[have a] good year”.

In Yiddish the greeting is a gut yor ("a good year") or a gut gebentsht yor ("a good blessed year").The formal Sephardic greeting is Tizku Leshanim Rabbot ("may you merit many years”), Likewise a more formal greeting commonly used among religiously observant Jews is Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah, which translates as "A good inscription and sealing [in the Book of Life]”. After Rosh Hashanah ends, the greeting is changed to G'mar chatimah tovah meaning "A good final sealing", until Yom Kippur. And after Yom Kippur is over, until Hoshana Rabbah, as Sukkot ends, the greeting is Gmar Tov "a good conclusion".

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Tu B'Shevat

Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the month of Shevat, is a holiday also known as the New Year for Trees. The word "Tu" is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July "Iv July" (IV being 4 in Roman numerals).

Judaism has several different "new years." In halakha, four different New Years are observed: Rosh Hashanah (the first of Tishrei), the first of Nisan (when the Exodus began), the first of Elul, and Tu BiShvat (the fifteenth of Shevat).

Why the fifteenth of Shevat?

“There are four new years... the first of Shevat is the new year for trees according to the ruling of Beit Shammai; Beit Hillel, however, places it on the fifteenth of that month.”

(Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1)

Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. See Lev. 19:23-25,.

23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the L-RD withal.

25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the L-RD your G-d.

-Customs-

There are but a few customs or observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day, or to eat from The Seven Species (shivat haminim) described in the Bible as being abundant in the land of Israel , See Deut. 8:8.

-The Shivat Haminim are-

Wheat,

Barley,

Grapes (vines)

Figs,

Pomegranates

Olives

Dates (honey) (Deut. 8:8).

Additionally some plant trees on this day. In my childhood, Jewish children commonly went around collecting money to plant trees in Israel at this time of year.

-Tashlikh-

There is a ritual that is performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah by most Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews (but not by Spanish and Portuguese Jews or some Yemenites, as well as those who follow the practices of the Vilna Gaon). This ritual is called tashlikh.

The traditional service for tashlikh is recited individually and includes the the following prayers.

Micah 7:18-19 "Who is like unto you, O G-d… And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea”.

Isaiah 11:9 "They will not injure nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be as full of the knowledge of the L-rd as the waters cover the sea"

Psalms 118:5–9

Psalms 121

Psalms 130

Tashlikh can be performed any time until Hoshana Rabba, and some Hasidic communities perform Tashlikh on the day before Yom Kippur.

-Greetings-

The Common greeting on Rosh Hashanah is Shanah Tovah (Hebrew: שנה טובה; pronounced in many Ashkenazic communities and pronounced Sa’na to’ve in Israeli and Sephardic communities, which translated from Hebrew means "[have a] good year”.