Hey all,
This week we celebrated the minor holiday known as Tu B'shvat. Tu B'shvat is considered the "New Year for trees." Nice. National Arbor Day. A day to go ecological, eat some fruit, perhaps plant a tree in Israel. This is all nice, but Tu B'shvat isn't the Jewish answer to urban sprawl. It, of course, goes way deeper than that.
What IS Tu B'shvat?
"On this day begins the new year for the reckoning of trees... the world is judged on four different occasions. On Passover, the future of the grain harvest is judged, on Shavuot the fruits of the trees are judged, on Rosh Hashanah the world passes before G-d..., and on Sukkot, concerning the rainfall" (Talmud).
Happy New Year, then, takes on a whole new meaning. This is one of four annual reviews. Although I don't think any of our readers are farmers, how well the grain does and how much the rain falls affects every one of us. It would be helpful for us to know what is being judged when. What else can Tu B'shvat tell us?
The Torah states, "for the man is a tree of the field".
It can be explained that just as a tree is constantly producing fruits, ideally, so should a person be constantly producing fruits. And what are the fruits of a man? Ideally, his children. Just as the farmer is concerned and takes many special precautions to ensure that the fruits come out just right, so should the man be concerned that his offspring come out right.
So:
Here's what I learned this week from Tu B'shvat:
1. G-d has designated a New Year for trees. In Judaism, "New Year" means judgment - the opportunity to pray for and earn a good plan for the upcoming year. What a gift!
2. A person is like a tree - we produce mini versions of ourselves. That's a big deal. Let's put the effort and care to make sure they turn out right.
Have a great week!