Tu BiSh'vat

When God first created human beings, the Eternal showed them around the Garden of Eden and then warned, ‘Take care not to corrupt and destroy my world, for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.’ (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13)

On the 15th day of the month (tu— טו in Hebrew) of Sh’vat the Jewish community celebrates the holiday of Tu BiSh’vat, or what is commonly known as the “New Year for the Trees," the Jewish Arbor Day. Scholars believe that Tu BiSh'vat was originally an agricultural festival, marking the emergence of spring. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. and the Diaspora of Jews around the world, this holiday was a way for Jews to symbolically bind themselves to their former homeland by celebrating and eating foods found in Israel. Tu BiSh’vat is not mentioned in the Torah, but rather is first described in the Mishnah, by the 3rd century.

In Israel, the winter rains begin to subside and budding begins. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu BiSh’vat, no matter when in the year it was planted; therefore it is customary to plant trees and partake of the fruits of the land of Israel to mark the occasion. To celebrate, we commonly eat fruits native to Eretz Yisrael—barley, dates, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives and wheat.

On Tu BiSh’vat, we celebrate and honor the sacred and unique connection which exists between Judaism and nature; a time when we remember the biblical teaching that “the tree of the fields is man’s life” (Deuteronomy 20:19). The Tu BiSh’vat seder was created in the 16th century by Isaac Luria and other Kabbalists, as a celebration of the Kabbalistic “Tree of Life,” a tree which is the visual representation of the flow of Divine energy into the world.

Tu BiSh’vat has also become a time to celebrate the world of nature around us, to consider our impact on our environment and what we can do to preserve it. We express our joy and thankfulness for the beauty and fruit of trees which God has created and sustained and renewed. Our ‘tree of life,' our Torah, reminds us of our responsibility to care for God’s world of which we are the custodians, and of our responsibility for sharing the fruits of God’s earth. It becomes our opportunity to express our Jewish commitment to protecting the earth.

Today, Tu BiSh'vat is a tree-planting festival in Israel, in which both Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of a loved one or friend.

To plant a tree in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one, please contact The JNF Online Tree Planting Center.

We can also work in sustaining our environment and planting trees for renewal right in our own backyard. An organization called TreePeople trains people to plant and care for trees in Los Angeles, focusing on the importance of greening the urban areas.

For the holiday itself and the custom to eat a new fruit, one that you have not yet tasted this season:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְהַעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה

Baruch Atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech ha-olam, she-hecheyanu v’kiy’manu v’higi’anu lazman hazeh.

Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, Who has given us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this joyous season.

For eating fruit:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הַעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַעֵץ

Baruch Atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech ha-olam, borei p’ri ha-eitz.

Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, Creator of the fruits of the tree.

On seeing trees in blossom for the first time in a season:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הַעוֹלָם, שֶׁלֹא חִסֵר בְּעוֹלָמוֹ כְּלוּם, וּבַרָא בוֹ בְּרִיוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְאִילָנוֹת טוֹבִים לֶהֱנוֹת בָּהֶם בְּנֵי אָדָם

Baruch Atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech ha-olam, shelo chiseir b’olamo k’lum, u’vara b’riyot tovot v’ilanot tovim le’henot bahem b’nei adam.

Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, whose world lacks nothing, and who has created goodly creatures and beautiful trees that give human beings enjoyment.

Tu BiSh’vat, symbolizing our partnership with God in creation and our responsibility for our environment, presents us with the ideal opportunity to engage in environmental education and work. Encouraging the greening of our daily lives is surely part of this holiday’s message. To fulfill the mandate of tikkun olam, repairing the world, there is nothing more appropriate than to try to implement environmentally sound practices and energy-efficient ways in our homes, our work and our community. Find many suggestions of how to begin or continue this work in a Jewish context >>

“You shall set aside every year a tenth part of all the yield of your sowing that is brought from the field…so that you may revere Adonai your God forever.” (Deut. 14:22-23).

Originally, Tu BiSh’vat was a tithing day; a day to pay taxes of the fruit trees. With the destruction of the Temple, we no longer pay these taxes, but we can still set aside a contribution to the betterment of our earth, based on our usage of its resources. At carbonfund.org, you can to determine your energy consumption in terms of its impact environmentally, and find ways to act or donate to restore our environment based on this.

The seder for Tu BiSh’vat is full of imagery and symbolism meant to mark the four seasons. Additionally, the seder is split into four themes, each of which represents a different Kabbalistic description of the relationships that we have with the earth: Assiya (Actualization), Yetzira (Formation), Beriah (Creation), Atzilut (Nobility). This seder can be a time of reflection, a time to look at our impact on the world around us and change the way to interact with our environment during the coming year.

Find a text for a seder >>

Purchase copies of Seder Tu BiSh’vat-The Festival of Trees >>

“There are four New Years: On the first of the month of Nisan is the New Year for kings and for festivals; on the first of Elul is the New Year for the tithe of animal, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon say the first of Tishrei (is the New Year for animals); on the first of Tishrei is the New Year for the (counting of the) years, for Shmitta (sabbatical years), for the Jubilee, for planting and for vegetables; and on the first of Sh’vat is the New Year for Trees, according to the view of the School of Shammai. But the School of Hillel say, on the fifteenth of that month (Sh’vat).” (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 1)

“When in your war against a city you have to besiege it for a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its fruit trees, wielding an ax against them. You may eat of them, but you may not cut them down. Are the trees of the city human to withdraw from you into the besieged city? Only trees which you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siege works against the city that is waging war on you until it has been captured.” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20)

"It is forbidden to live in a city that does not have a garden or greenery." (Talmud, Kiddushin 4:12)

“The Holy One said to Israel, ‘Even though you will find the land full of goodness, do not say: We will sit and not plant. Rather, be careful to plant trees. Just as you found trees which others had planted, so you should plant for your children. No one should say I am old. How many more years shall I live? Why should I be troubled for the sake of others? Just as he found trees, he should add more by planting even if one is old.” (Midrash Tanchuma, Kedoshim 8)

“I will make the fruits of your trees and the crops of your fields abundant, and people shall say, ‘That land, once desolate, has become like the Garden of Eden; and cities once ruined, desolate and ravaged are now populated and fortified.’ The trees of the field shall yield their fruit and the land shall yield its produce.” (Ezekiel 34)

“I will set cypresses in the desert, box trees and elms as well, that all may see and know, consider and comprehend that the hand of god has created this.” (Isaiah 41)

“Why is Torah (our Tree of Life) compared to a fig? Because nearly every fruit has some part which cannot be eaten: dates have pits, grapes have seeds, and pomegranates have skin. But every part of the fig is good to eat.” (Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua 1)

Of all the trees that grow in the Land of Israel, the cedar is singled out for its majesty, exemplified by its strength, height, fragrance and hardiness.

When a Jew dies, it is customary to bury him or her in a simple pine coffin, the most inexpensive of woods, symbolizing the essential equality of all creatures in God’s eyes.

In biblical poetry, palms symbolize beauty, grace and fruitfulness. The psalmist compares the righteous person to a flourishing palm.