Friends, as we gather on this Shabbat we are reminded that next Tuesday, on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat we will be celebrating Tu B'Shevat, The New Year For The Trees. We are also reminded that Tu B'Shevat is one of four New Years celebrated in our faith. The first of the month of Nisan is the month in which Moses was commanded in Egypt, "This month shall be considered by you as the 'First of the Months'"; and so, historically, this was the month of the exodus from Egypt, the beginning of the Jewish national history. Nisan is considered the first for the purpose of counting the Festivals of the Hebrew calendar, thus, Passover is considered the first festival.
The first day of the month of Elul is considered the first of the months regarding the practice of "Ma-asrot" or tithing mentioned in the Torah; this one in particular refers to the tithing of cattle.
The first of Tishrei is the Rosh Hashanah of the fall, the one to which we commonly refer to as Rosh Hashanah, the day that Divine Justice is meted out to all people and to all nations. The ten days of repentance begins on the first day of Tishrei when all God's creatures come before the heavenly court for a ten-day trial and climaxes on the tenth day of Tishrei or Yom Kippur when the fate of each is sealed.
Finally, the fourth "Rosh Hashanah" is Tu B'Shevat, celebrated on the fifteenth of Shevat, is, like the first day of Elul, related to tithing but in this case the tithing of the fruits of the earth. This festival is not mentioned in the Torah and is first referred to in the period of the Second Temple. Tu B'Shevat arose as the cut-off day for the assessing the "tithe" or tax levied on the produce of fruit trees. Fruit grown before Tu B'Shevat would be included in the grower's calculations for the past year, while fruit grown after the fifteenth of Shevat would be taxed for the following year.
The Mishnah tells of the disagreement between the houses of Hillel and Shammai regarding the setting of the date of the festival. The House of Hillel eventually won out with the Rabbis pronouncing the fifteenth day of Shevat as the "New Year For The Trees" thus bringing this holiday in line with two other agricultural festivals celebrated in the middle of the month, Passover and Sukkot.
With the destruction of the Second Temple the laws of tithing became irrelevant since they had no validity outside of the land of Israel. After the exile Tu B'Shevat became a day on which to commemorate our connection to Eretz Yisrael no matter where Jews lived.
FFor us living in the northern hemisphere it serves to remind us that, in Eretz Yisrael, most of the winter rains have fallen, and the sap in the trees has risen, thus heralding the beginning of spring in the land of Israel. Much of current-day ceremony in the celebration of this festival dates to the Kabbalist Rabbis of fifteenth-century Safed. The prescribed hymns, eating of the first fruits of the land, drinking f four cups of wine as at Passover and the passages of scripture recited in praise of the Holy Land and its produce. Jews celebrate Tu B'Shevat by eating the seven types of plant produce mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8, "wheat, barley, fruit of the vine, fig, pomegranate, olives and honey (made from dates)". Almonds also play a significant role at Tu B'Shevat being the first tree to bloom in the spring. Not known for its sweetness the fruit of the carob tree has also played a pivotal role in celebration of Tu B'Shevat mainly because it could survive the long trip from Israel to the Jewish communities in Europe and North Africa.
With the settling of the land of Israel in the 19th century Tu B'Shevat began to take on new meaning and significance. Tu B'Shevat became known as "Arbor Day" in Israel and is celebrated with tree-planting ceremonies held by school children. In the Diaspora it has become traditional to donate money to the Jewish National Fund for the purpose of planting trees in Israel.
Finally Tu B'Shevat serves to remind us that we are the stewards of the earth and its environment. As the Torah is the "Tree Of Life" providing guidance, protection, and spiritual sustenance, we must care for the trees that nurture, protect, and provide sustenance for those living around it.
In recent weeks we have all been witness to the fragility of life and the earth's vulnerability.
As we mourn those lives so tragically lost as a result of the fury of the earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis we must also support those who remain as they seek to rebuild their lives and their lands.
Amen