Tu Bishvat - ט"ו בשבט

tubishvat

TU B’SHVAT – NEW YEAR FESTIVAL OF TREES:

Tu B'Shvat, which falls on 15 Shevat on the Jewish calendar, is the day that marks the beginning of a "New Year for Trees." This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.

Legally, the "New Year for Trees" relates to the various tithes (a tithe represented one tenth of the yearly produce which had to be donated to the Temple) that had to be put aside from produce grown in the Holy Land.
We mark the day of Tu B'Shvat by eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are referred to in the Torah: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. It is also traditional to eat at least one type of fruit or nut that you have not eaten before or have not eaten for a long time.

Tu B'Shvat offers an opportunity for us to connect with the natural world. Not only can we celebrate the new flowering and fruit crops of the trees, we can also use the imagery of the ending of winter leading to the start of spring. Just like the new growth and rebirth of nature, we can appreciate the renewal of energy within ourselves and within all life.

Activity Idea:
Plant parsley seeds in paper cups. The parsley should have grown enough by Pesach that you can clip it and dip it in salt water during the Pesach Seder.

Genesis states that humans are supposed to look after all of G-d’s creation. Thus, when Zionist settlers in the late nineteenth century in Palestine discovered a deforested desert, they planted trees in order to restore the country. Jewish communities around the world began to raise money for reforestation and it has now become traditional for children to donate to the Jewish National Fund on Tu B'Shvat, in order that trees can be planted in Israel. Jewish people around the world plant trees on Tu B'Shvat in honour of humankind’s connection to our planet and to work toward the healing of the environment.
References:

Black, N.(Ed.) (1989) Celebration – The Book of Jewish Festivals, Jonathan David Publishers, Inc. New York. Falcon PhD, Rabbi T. and Blatner, D. (2001) Judaism for Dummies, Hungry Minds, New York.