On the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shvat (January 20th 2011), we celebrate Tu biShvat (ט"ו בִּשְׁבָט) – the New Year of the trees and the fruits. The name of this holiday actually states the date it is celebrated according to the Jewish calendar: Every letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical value – the sum of the ninth letter ט and the sixth letter ו gives us the numerical value of 15 – ט"ו. Hence, Tu biShvat is the 15th day of the month of Shvat (the fifth month in the Jewish calendar).
Tu biShvat was first mentioned in the Mishna (מִשְׁנָה) as one of the four New Years of the Jewish calendar. According to the Jewish Law, it is forbidden to eat fruits of trees in the first three years after they were planted. Tu biShvat is the cut-off date for calculating the age of the trees for this purpose. Although this aspect of Tu biShvat is relevant only to the Land of Israel, the Jews in the Diaspora used to celebrate it by eating dried fruits from the Land of Israel, and in some places by having a special Tu biShvat Seder constructed of blessing the fruits and reading verses from the bible about fruits, trees and their relationship with human beings.
The tradition of modern Israel regarding Tu biShvat was initiated on Tu Bishvat of 1890 by the teacher and author Ze’ev Yavetz (זְאֵב יַעְבֵץ). On that day, Rabi Yavetz went out with his students to plant trees in the agricultural colony of Zichron Yaakov. His idea was adopted by other schools, and in 1908 the Jewish Teachers Union (הִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַמּוֹרִים) and later the Jewish National Fund (קֶרֶן קַיֶּמֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, Keren Hakayemet Le’Israel), made this day the official planting day of Israel.
This year, after we experienced the horrible fire on the Carmel Mountain Range, Tu biShvat has an extra value in our attempts to preserve and revive the forest.
Girls planting trees in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, 1948
Credit: Gan Shmuel Archive
Happy Tu Bi’Shvat! ט"ו בִּשְׁבָט שָׂמֵחַ!
שִׁירָה כֹּהֵן-רֶגֶב
Shira Cohen-Regev
The eTeacherHebrew Team
Hebrew Words
עֵץ, אִילָן
Part of Speech: noun, masculine Transcription: etz, ilan Translation: treefkkf
נְטִיעָה, נְטִיעוֹת
Part of Speech: gerund Transcription: Neti’a (feminine, singular) Neti’ot (Feminine, plural) Translation: planting(s)
שְׁקֵדִיָּה
Part of Speech: noun, feminine Transcription: shkediya Translation: Almond tree
Relatedness to Tu Bi`Shvat: The almond tree has become one of the symbols of this holiday because of its early and beautiful bloom that occurs at this time of the year.
A Talmudic Story
A man was walking in the desert hungry, tired, and thirsty. He found a tree with sweet fruits, nice shade, and water streaming just below it. He ate from the tree’s fruit, drank from its water and sat down by its shade.
When he was ready to go he said: Tree, oh tree, how shall I bless you?
Should I bless you with sweet fruits? – your fruits are already sweet;
Should I bless you with nice shade? – your shade is already nice;
Should I bless you with water streaming below you? – there is already water streaming below you. May all plantings planted from you, will be just like you!
Hebrew Song
When You Come into the Land
כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ
Lyrics: From the Bible
מִלִּים: מן המקורות
Music: Folk
לַחַן: עממי
Translation
Transliteration
When you come into the land,
And have planted all trees for food,
And the tree will give its fruit
And the land will give its crop.
ki tavo’u el ha’aretz
unta’tem kol etz ma’axal,
venatan ha’etz piryo
veha’aretz yevula.
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The meaning of "יניב" (Yaniv) is: (he) will bear fruit, yield, produce. The future tense masculine singular form of the verb להניב (lehaniv).
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