Tu B'Shvat

Tu B'Shvat begins tonight at sunset. The Hebrew words Tu B'Shvat literally mean "the fifteenth" of the Hebrew month that we are currently in: Sh'vat. This day is a day for thanking God for the fruits of the Land of Israel, and for the life that He has given us.

We will honor Tu B'Shvat in two ways tonight: first, by eating the fruits for which Israel is renowned (olives, dates, grapes, figs, pomegranates and carob). And also by joining the national tradition of Israel and giving offerings to plant trees in Israel.

Whatever tzedakah (donations) are given tonight will be used to plant trees in the land of Israel in honor of our Bar Mitzvah, Noach.

As Noach begins to take hold of the responsibilities of manhood, one thing he will become aware of is preparing for the next generation. We are taught on Tu B'Shvat that we plant for the future generations coming after us because someone planted for us.

"Once Honi the circle-maker was walking on the road and saw a man planting a carob tree. He said to him: 'In how many years will this tree give fruit?' He answered: 'In seventy years.' Honi asked him, 'Are you so healthy that you will live seventy years and eat its fruit?' And he replied, 'I found the world full of carob trees when I came into it, and as my fathers planted for me, so will I plant for my children.'" (Ta'anit 23A)

Man is also compared to a tree throughout Scripture. For example, the book of Psalms states: "He is like a tree, planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season; its leaf does not wither, in all that he does, he prospers" (Psalm 1:3).

The beautiful and tall cedars of Lebanon are also given as an anology of blessing for people who follow after God's ways in righteousness. "The righteous flourish like the palm tree, as a cedar in Lebanon. Those that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God" (Psalm 92:13).

Jewish literature built on these concepts from the Bible as well. In Pirke Avot it is written: "A person whose wisdom exceeds his good deeds is likened to a tree whose branches are numerous, but whose roots are few. The wind comes and uproots it and turns it upside down. But a person whose good deeds exceed his wisdom is likened to a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are numerous. Even if all the winds of the world were to come and blow against it, they could not budge it from its place" (Avot 3:22).

Tu B'Shvat is one of four "new years" in Jewish tradition. It is the new year of trees. It is a time to acknowledge the goodness of God's creation of trees, fruits, vegetation, and the land.

About the Seder Meal

The Land of Israel is praised with specific reference to the fruits of her trees and the produce of her soil:

"A land of wheat and barley and vines (grapes) and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and (date) honey ... and you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you" (Deuteronomy 8:8-10).

The Tu B'Shvat seder meal incorporates each of these foods. It also includes four cups of wine, each of a different color, symbolizing the changing seasons of our lives. The cups progress from white in color to red.

The Tu B'Shvat Seder Meal

WHEAT, BARLEY, OLIVES

We begin the meal with the First Cup of solid white wine, bread made from wheat, olives, and barley.

"Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you. He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest of the wheat" (Psalm 147:12-14).

Blessings for the fruit of the ground (wheat and barley): "Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the ground."

The First Cup of wine we will drink tonight is white, a symbol of the winter season. While life on the earth looks dead, frozen, and dormant, we are assured that there is life still inside.

This is to remind us that even though we may not always bear good fruit for building God's kingdom, we must never forget that the potential for good always exists inside of each of us.

Blessings for the fruit of the vine (wine, grapes): "Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who created the fruit of the vine."

Blessings for the fruits of the tree (Olives, and later in the seder for the Pomegranates, Figs, Dates): "Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who created the fruit of the tree."

Olives are the source of oil for the "eternal light" in the tabernacle, and are symbols of peace and of God's presence. "And you shall command the people of Israel that they bring you pure beaten olive oil for the light, for the lamp to burn always. In the Tent of Meeting outside the veil, which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the people of Israel" (Exodus 27:20-21).

We take the Second Cup of Wine after the meal, mostly white wine with a few drops of red added in. The cup symbolizes the first signs of spring. These signs are not always able to be seen, but are there.

Just as the sap in the trees is believed to begin rising in the tree trunk at this time, we also have within us the beginnings of spiritual growth and maturity for the coming year.

We will drink the second cup with the rest of the fruits of Israel as we consider moving ahead on our paths with HaShem this year.

HONEY (DATES)

"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (Psalm 19:7-11).

FIGS

"Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit and whoever guards his Master will be honored." (Psalm 27:18)

"Rabbi Yochanan said: 'What is the meaning of "He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit"? (Proverbs 27:18) Why is the Torah compared to a fruit tree? Figs on a tree do not ripen all at once, but a little each day. Therefore, the longer one searches in the tree, the more figs he finds. So too with Torah: The more one studies, the more knowledge and wisdom one finds.'" (Talmud, Eruvin 54a)

"Why is the Torah compared to a fig tree? Because most trees - olive, grape, date - have their fruit picked all at once, but the fig fruit is picked little by little - so it is with the Torah: one learns a little of it one day and more the next, for it cannot all be learned in one year or two." (Bamidbar Raba 12:9)

GRAPES AND POMEGRANATES

"Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field ... let us rise early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flowered, if the grape blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom..." (Song of Songs 7:12)

"'Has the pomegranate blossomed?' These are the schoolchildren who sit and study Torah, row by row, like pomegranate seeds." (Shir Hashirim Raba: 6,17)

The Third Cup of Wine reminds us that is a time for every season of life. It is a darker rose-colored pink, made from half red and half white wine. This cup symbolizes the summertime of our lives--our growth and blossoming--like the trees and flowers.

It reminds us to always bear favorable and tasty "fruits" in our lives no matter what situation we find ourselves in.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven; A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, a time to uproot that which has been planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance... A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)

We close the seder with the Fourth Cup of Wine, symbolic of the restoration of Israel and the Redemption of the World of Come. It is almost all red wine to represent fruitfulness and abundance.

But, we still add two or three drops of white wine to remember that we remain in the diaspora (outside of Israel) and that we have not yet entered the coming age of the World to Come.

As we drink this cup, we think about and yearn for the fruition of the seeds of redemption--the coming of the Mashiach and the establishment of the messianic era.

We are told that when we enter the Land of Israel, we are to plant trees: "When you enter the land and plant any tree for food" (Leviticus 19:23).

The planting of trees that we will provide for in honor of Noach's Bar Mitzvah will be the "seeds" so to speak of a hopeful return to the Land of Israel. If the Lord sees fit, then at the time when Noach returns to the Land of Israel, he will plant trees for himself in fulfillment of this Scripture.

The blossoming of the Land of Israel has also been understood and described as the clearest possible sign that the Messiah is coming: "The wilderness and dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with singing" (Isaiah 35:1-2).

"R. Abba also said: 'There can be no more manifest [sign of] redemption than this ... When Eretz Yisrael becomes so very fertile, Mashiach's coming is near, and there can be no clearer sign than this.'" (Rashi, Sanhedrin 98a)

Conclusion

May we have the privilege of continuing to discover new understanding and insight as one who searches for and finds the fruit of the fig tree.

May we always plant for the coming generations and never forget our responsibility to that mission.

May we be seated like the rows of the pomegranates' seeds as students eager for God's Word.

May God guide us down the path of faith, peace, good deeds, love of Israel, and may we herald the Messiah and live to see His coming when he establishes his Holy Temple in Israel.

NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!