SPIRITUALITY/HOLIDAY

Tu B'Shevat

T

he name of the festival of Tu
b'Shevat is actually its date: "Tu"
is a pronunciation of the Hebrew
letters for the number 15, and it falls in
the Hebrew month of Shvat.
• History: Tu b'Shevat, or the "birth-
day" of all fruit trees, is a minor festival
seemingly tailor-made for today's Jewish
environmentalists. In fact, there is an
ancient midrash (rabbinic teaching) that
states, "When God led Adam around the
Garden of Eden, God said, 'Look at My
works. See how beautiful they are, how
excellent! For your sake I created them all.
See to it that you do not spoil or destroy
My world — for if you do, there will be no
one to repair it after you'" (Ecclesiastes
Rabbah 7.13).
Traditionally, Tu b'Shevat was not a
Jewish festival. Rather, it marked an
important date for Jewish farmers in
ancient times. The Torah states, "When
you enter the land [of Israel] and plant
any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit
as forbidden. Three years it shall be for-
bidden for you, not to be eaten" (Leviticus
19:23).
The fruit of the fourth year was to be
offered to the priests in the Temple as a
gift of gratitude for the bounty of the land,
and the fifth-year fruit — and all subse-
quent fruit — was finally for the farmer.
This law, however, raised the question of
how farmers were to mark the "birthday"
of a tree. The rabbis therefore established
the 15th of the month of Shevat as a gen-
eral "birthday" for all trees, regardless of
when they were actually planted.

The story behind the 'birthday' of the trees.

• Special Designation: Fruit trees
were awarded special status in the Torah
because of their importance in sustaining
life and as a symbol of God's divine favor.
Even during times of war, God warns the
Israelites, "When in your war against a
city you have to besiege it a long time in
order to capture it, you must not destroy
its trees... Are trees of the field human to
withdraw before you into the besieged
city? Only trees that you know do not yield
food may be destroyed" (Deuteronomy
20:19-20).
• New Years: At a later time, the rabbis
of the Talmud established four "new years"
throughout the Jewish calendar — Rosh
Hashanah, or the Jewish New Year for the

calendar date; a new year for establishing
the reign of kings; a new year for tithing
animals of Jewish farmers to be given to
the Temple; and finally, Tu b'Shevat, the
new year for the trees.
• Kabbalistic Ties: Tu b'Shevat could
easily have fallen into disuse after the
destruction of the Second Temple in 70
C.E. because there was no longer a sys-
tem of fruit offerings or Temple priests
to receive them. However, the kabbalists
(mystics) of Safed in the Land of Israel in
the 16th century created a new ritual to
celebrate Tu b'Shevat called the Feast of
Fruits. In medieval times, kabbalists gave
Tu b'Shevat greater spiritual significance.
According to Lurianic Kabbalah (which
is a form of mysticism studied by the stu-
dents of Isaac Luria), all physical forms —
including human beings — hide within
them a spark of the Divine Presence. This
is similar to some kinds of fruits or nuts,
which hide within them seeds of new life
and potential growth. In Jewish mysti-
cism, human actions can release these
sparks and help increase God's presence in
the world. On Tu b'Shevat, the kabbalists
would eat certain fruits associated with
the land of Israel as a symbolic way of
releasing these divine sparks. Participants
would read selections from the Hebrew
Bible and rabbinic literature, and eat fruits
and nuts traditionally associated with the
Land of Israel.
• Zionist Yearning: In modern times,
Tu b'Shevat has become a symbol of both
Zionist attachment to the land of Israel as
well as an example of Jewish sensitivity

to the environment. Early Zionist settlers
to Israel in the late 19th century began
planting new trees not only to restore the
ecology of ancient Israel, but also as a
symbol of renewed growth of the Jewish
people returning to their ancestral home-
land. While relatively few Jews continue
to observe the kabbalistic Tu b'Shevat
seder, many American and European Jews
observe Tu b'Shevat by contributing money
to the Jewish National Fund, an organiza-
tion devoted to reforesting Israel.
• Ecology: For environmentalists, Tu
b'Shevat is an ancient and authentic Jewish
"Earth Day" that educates Jews about the
Jewish tradition's advocacy of responsible
stewardship of God's creation as mani-
fested in ecological activism. Among them,
contemporary versions of the Tu b'Shevat
seder emphasizing environmentalist con-
cerns are gaining popularity. In modern
times, Tu b'Shevat continues to be an
opportunity for planting trees — in Israel
and elsewhere, wherever Jews live.
• Passover Ties: The Tu b'Shevat seder
has increased in popularity in recent years.
Celebrated as a congregational event, the
modern Tu b'Shevat seder is multipurpose.
While it connects participants to the land
of Israel, the seder today is often imbued
with an ecological message as well. One
new custom often found at such seders
uses Tu b'Shevat as a preparation for the
Passover seder. In climates where tree
planting is not feasible, participants will
plant parsley seeds; the parsley will be
used on the Passover seder plate. I

— myjewishlearninq.com

Happy New Year!

Tu b'Shevat
marks another
new beginning.

Annabel Cohen
Special to the Jewish News

R

osh Hashanah literally means
head of the year or new year.
Tomorrow night is the beginning
of the Jewish festival of Tu b'Shevat and
Jews around the world will be acting, well,
fruity for the new year of trees.
The 15th of Shevat dates back to the

time when the crop of fruit-bearing trees
merited national praise when the winter's
siesta ended and the sap began to flow in
the Holy Land.
The traditional meal for this annual
event is dinner, or a seder if desired
(complete with four glasses of wine).
This repast should include specific fruits:
olives, dates, pomegranates, grapes and
figs, and the grains wheat and barley.
These are known collectively as the seven
species.
Today, other fruits and nuts are also
included, including carob, fruits with pits
such as apricots, and, as in another Rosh
Hashanah, honey.

Barley, Chick Peal Almond And
Dressing:
Mint Salad
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 /2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 cup pearl barley
Prepare barley: Heat oil in a large
4 cups water
saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the
1 can, about 15 ounces chick peas
onions and garlic and saute until softened,
or garbanzo beans, drained and
about 5 minutes. Add the barley and cook,
rinsed
stirring, for 2 minutes more. Add the water
1 cup chopped scallions, white and
and bring to a boil.
green parts
Cover the pan, reduce heat to simmer
1 /2 to 1 cup chopped fresh mint
and cook for 40-50 minutes, until the bar-
leaves, to taste
ley is tender. Transfer the barley to a large
1 cup lightly toasted slivered or
bowl and allow to cool for 1 hour. Add
sliced almonds
remaining non-dressing ingredients.
salt and pepper to taste
Happy New Year! on page 30

February 1 • 2007

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