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The Holiday
Of The Trees
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u B'Shevat, which was
celebrated this week, is
unique among the holi-
days celebrated by Jews
in Israel and around the globe.
The date is not even men-
tioned in the Bible or the Tal-
mud as a holiday. It was only a
day used for figuring taxes: Any
tree that had fruit before that
date was taxed in the same
year, while any tree that gave
fruit was taxed the following
year. That is why it is men-
tioned as the "new year of the
trees."
The celebration of Tu B'She-
vat as a festive holiday began
in the Diaspora. It came about
as an expression of the longing
for the Land of Israel and for
the days when Israel was a na-
tion. The eating of fruit on this
day was a symbol of the eternal
tie between the people of Israel
and the land of their fore-
fathers.
No certain date is known for
the beginning of these celebra-
tions, but it seems that the cus-
tom of celebrating this holiday
began in Germany in the 14th
or 15th century because by the
16th century it was well-
established and had spread to
Eastern Europe. Later, due to
the emigration of Jews to the
United States and North Africa,
the custom spread to those
places and became an accepted
part of Jewish life.
Even a festive meal, full of
symbolism, was designed by
Kabbalists for the holiday. The
first cup of wine was white
wine, symbolizing the blossom-
ing of the white almond trees.
Daily 10 'til 8, Wed. & Sat. 'tit 5,Sun 12 'til 5
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Children planting trees In Israel.
ss
The second cup was white wine
mixed with a bit of red, sym-
bolizing the early emergency of
the red buttercups which we
know as kalaniyot. The third
cup was half red and half white,
symbolizing the mixture of
rotem, tulips and more red but-
tercups. The last and fourth cup
was almost all red with a bit of
white, as the bright red poppies
replaced other wildflowers.
The custom of planting trees
on Tu B'Shevat was introduced
No certain date is
known for the
beginning of these
celebrations.
by the early Zionist pioneers,
who returned to the Land of
Israel from Eastern Europe.
Filled with fervor and excited
over the chance to work the soil
of this "new-old land," they de-
clared the "new year of the
trees" to be a day of reclaiming
the land. To symbolize this
reclamation, they planted trees.
The custom spread, and today,
in such far-flung places as
North America, South America,
South Africa and Australia,
Jews plant trees to affirm their
connection with the Land of
Israel.
The Jewish National Fund
has planted over 200 million
trees in Israel since 1901. Dur-
ing Tu B'Shevat, thousands of
Israelis plant trees in JNF
forests, especially students from
schools and universities.
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