Study Sheet – Tu BiShvat
Olam study program revision sheet – Jewish conversion
1. Overview
Tu BiShvat (15 Shevat) is the "New Year of the Trees" (Rosh Hashanah LaIlanot). The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1:1) establishes this date for calculating tithes on fruit (ma'aser). It is a semi-festive day: Tachanun is omitted.
Why the 15th of Shevat: the Sages (school of Hillel) chose this date because it corresponds to the time when, in the Land of Israel, the sap begins rising in the trees after winter, heralding the spring renewal.
It is not a holiday: no melakhah is forbidden, no obligatory prayer or specific Torah reading. Its importance is primarily symbolic and educational.
2. Connection to the Land of Israel
Tu BiShvat is intimately linked to Eretz Yisrael: tithes apply only to fruits of the Land of Israel, and the seven species celebrated are those of the Promised Land.
Since the Zionist movement, Tu BiShvat has become a national tree-planting day in Israel, promoted by the KKL (Keren Kayemet LeYisrael / JNF). The holiday symbolizes the rebirth of the land and ecological awareness.
Wheat (chitah), Barley (se'orah), Grape/vine (gefen), Fig (te'enah), Pomegranate (rimon), Olive (zayit), Date (tamar/devash)
Special after-blessing: "Al ha'aretz ve'al haperot"
3. Related Agricultural Laws
Orlah: it is forbidden to consume the fruit of a tree during its first three years. The count is based on the agricultural calendar, of which Tu BiShvat marks the beginning of each new year.
Ma'aser (fruit tithe): the obligation to set aside a portion of fruits for the Kohanim, Levites, the poor, or Jerusalem. Tu BiShvat determines to which year a fruit belongs.
4. The Tu BiShvat Seder
Inspired by the Kabbalists of Safed (17th century), described in the text "Pri Etz Hadar."
Four cups of wine: from pure white to pure red, progressively (symbolizing nature's awakening, from winter to spring).
- Fruit with hard shell (pomegranate, walnut, almond) → Olam haAsiyah (world of action)
- Fruit with pit (date, olive, cherry) → Olam haYetzirah (world of formation)
- Fruit entirely edible (fig, grape) → Olam haBeri'ah (world of creation)
Recitation of texts on nature and the Land of Israel.
5. Customs
- Eating a wide variety of tree fruits, especially the seven species
- Reciting Shehecheyanu for a new seasonal fruit (eaten for the first time)
- Planting trees (modern Zionist tradition)
- Some Sephardic communities recite Hallel
- No Tachanun
6. Symbolism of the Tree
The Torah compares a person to a tree of the field (Devarim 20:19). Just as a tree produces fruit, a person must produce good deeds (mitzvot). The roots represent faith, the trunk the inner life, the branches one's actions, the fruit one's results.
Key Takeaways – Summary
- Tu BiShvat = 15 Shevat, New Year of the Trees
- Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1, tithe calculation
- Not a holiday, no Tachanun
- 7 species: wheat, barley, grape, fig, pomegranate, olive, date
- Orlah = first 3 years forbidden
- Kabbalistic Seder: 4 cups of wine, 3 categories of fruit
- KKL: tree planting in Israel
- A person = a tree (Devarim 20:19)
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