WE ARE
ALWAYS
BUYING

elah, is a native tree of Israel, some-
of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge
he Torah is a like a tree of life,
times growing to enormous size.
of Good and Evil — whose luscious
and it's also like a garden,
Based on this interpretation, the tere-
fruits endow everlasting life and the
filled with trees that have
binth of Moreh might have been a
power of discernment.
shaped our history and our lives.
well-known
landmark. If we interpret
We know less about the gopher
There are the famous trees, of
moreh as "teacher," the "terebinth of
tree, whose wood forms the ark con-
course (think Adam and Eve), but
the
teacher" might have other impli-
structed by Noah. Many have inter-
also some lesser-known ones that,
cations. In the episode of the rebel-
! preted 'gopher" to be the cypress,
nonetheless, come with their own
lion of Gaal ben-Eyed, there is men-
since the Greek word for cypress,
intriguing tales.
tion of the "terebinth of the diviners"
kyparissos, is derived from Hebrew.
Next week, Feb. 8, is Tu b'She-
(Judges 9:37). The prophets Hosea,
Nonetheless, other Torah commen-
vat, the birthday of the trees. In
Isaiah and Ezekiel condemn tree
tators have rendered the word as
honor of this day, we consider some
cults
centered on terebinths.
pine, boxwood or cedar.
of the trees in the Tanach.
In any case, the terebinth is cited
There also is disagreement
Probably the best-known trees
frequently
in the Torah. Yaacov (Jacob)
whether certain words in the Torah
appear at the beginning of the
buries his father-in-law's idols under a
mean trees at all. In parshat Lech
Torah in Bereshit (Genesis) in the
terebinth, and Gideon encountered
Lecha, God commands Avram to
episode of Can Eden, the Garden
God's angel under a terebinth. David
leave his and of birth and settle in
of Eden.
defeated Goliath in the Valley of the
Canaan. Avram travels as far as
There, we find trees to nourish
Terebinth, and David's son, Absalom,
Elon Moreh (Genesis 12:6), which
humanity's spiritual and physical
met his end when, caught by his long
usually is translated as the "Plains of
needs. Verse 9 states that God
hair in the branches of a terebinth, he
Moreh."
"caused to spout from the ground
was
slain.
The alternate translation by the
every tree that was pleasing to the
As related in Parshat Vayeira (Gen-
medieval commentators Ibn Ezra and
sight and good for food." Prominent-
:
esis
21:33), Avraham planted a
Ramban is the "terebinth of Moreh."
' ly placed in the center of the garden
tamarisk (eshel) tree in the city of
The terebinth, known in Hebrew as
are two unique specimens: the Tree

Tu b'Shevat
At A Glance

What the words mean: Shevat is the name of a

month on the Jewish calendar. Because in the Hebrew
alphabet each letter also represents a numerical value,
the number 15 is written as ter vav, which forms the
acronym Tu. The second part, biShevat, means in She--
vat." Thus, Tu b`Shevat means "15th of Shevat."

When it occurs this year Thursday Feb. 8

What it is: In Halachah (Jewish law), the 1 5th day of
the month of Shevat is designated as the cutoff date for
tithing fruits from trees. In ancient Israel, every Jewish
farmer gave a percentage of his produce to the priests
and Levites to maintain the Temple in Jerusalem. In
Hebrew, this is known as teruma, a tithe. Tree-borne
fruit that came from blossoms formed before the 1 5th of
Shevat belonged to the current tithing year while fruit
from blossoms that formed after the 15th were designat-

ed for the next year.

How it is observed: Today, whether in or outside

of Israel, there is no tithing because there is no Temple
(the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the al-Aksa Mosque
stand on the Temple site in Jerusalem). For mostjews in
ancient times, Tu b'Shevat was nothing more than a
bookkeeping day. Through the generations, however,
the 15th took on spiritual characteristics. It was espe-
cially embraced by Sephardic Jews and in the 16th
century by Jewish mystics of Safed, a town in northern
Israel, as well as the authors of the Kabbalah who later
developed many customs for the day, including liturgi-
cal readings and a festive meal based on the Pesach
seder, complete with four cups of wine.
For most Sephardic Jews today, Tu b'Shevat is a fes-
tive day. Among all Jews, it is customary to eat fruit
from trees, especially fruit imported from israel, or that
by tradition are native to Israel. If eating a fruit for the
first time this (Jewish) year the Shehechiyanu prayer is
recited. In Israel, some plant trees on Tu biShevat.

Rules and regulations: Tachnun, the penitential
daily prayer, is not recited. Some recite Psalm 104

(Borchi Nafshi"), and also the 15 psalms that begin
Shir HaMaalot ("Song of Ascent"), 1 ,20-134.

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