Tu BiShvat

That is so beautiful and uplifting to think about the wonderful, amazing, green trees celebrating a New Year. Trees are very unique; not only do the trees bear luscious fruits for us humans to enjoy, but the trees provide shade, various colors and of course trees are statuesque, and just great to gaze upon. People seem to overlook trees as just a growth taking up space, but if they really thought about trees, and the same G d who created humans created trees then maybe they would learn to appreciate them as a glorious wonderful natural growth that even celebrates the New Year. Reply

If you want to plant a new tree to celebrate Tu BiShvat, should the tree be planted after Sukkot and not on the holiday? And if this is appropriate, does it have to be a fruit tree? Reply

Plant a tree, watch the tree grow, and be happy.for the rest of your life. Reply

Thank you for this interesting article. I am born and bred religious, but there seem to be some basics that I have missed when I stood in the corner of the classroom, again.
What I didn't miss is that its very hard not to miss a worm in figs and dried figs are even worse. (Can you tell the difference between a dried little something and among dried sticky seeds, I don't) Reply

Of course I'm blessed – at least I feel it in my heart.
Moreover, nutrition by plants and their fruits – is nothing compared to the spirit of each word which comes out of the mouth of GOD. Reply

Is it okay just to do the Bracha of Hetz ? Reply

Grains are planted and eaten in the same year whereas the fruit of trees is only permitted in the 5th year hence a new year for trees is required. Grains are winnowed, processed and cooked/baked before they are eaten whereas fruit is taken and eaten directly from the tree and is considered far more healthy than grains. The harvest of grain kills the grain whereas trees continue to provide fruit in season. The grains represent the average man whereas fruit represents a higher spiritual level, fruit was present in Gan Eden, Adam ha rishon was cursed so that he would no longer eat of the fruit of the garden but have to work the land and sweat to survive. The life span of a tree can stretch from the life span of a man to thousands of years. When a boy reached bar mitzvah age he was considered old enough to begin an apprenticeship which would last 7 years until he was 20 when he was considered a fully grown man, the avot Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaacov only got going at age 75. Reply

As far as I know, the Rebbe never said 'tu b'shvat', but rather 'chamisha aser b'shvat'. Same with the 15th of av.. The Rebbe even corrected someone on video during dollars when the person said 'tu', instead of "chamisha aser". Interestingly, in the entire Talmud it's always spelled out חמישה עשר, never abbreviated Reply

California's Joshua tree is reputed to be the oldest "living" tree on earth. Good for it. Then I read in the NY Times 1/28/18 SR p.5 "Rambling Through Time" that geologic time has a lot of monkey business going on we can thank the trees for. The Edicaran period of seafloor slime dwellers 540 million years ago ended 200 million years later at the end of the Devonian period the author Peter Brannen attributes to the evolution of trees which posits drove the sort of climate and ocean chemistry changes making it possible for us to live and breath here today. Nice work trees! Let's not mess it up. Shalom, SF4star Reply

Tu BiShvat When I was very young my mother would tuck me into bed by reading me her favorite poem, Trees, by Jpuce Kilmer.

MR. Joyce Kilmer wrote:I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree;
*see poem in Wikipedia...
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only G_d can make a tree. Reply

Thank you for the insight. We have about 10 or more oaks trees in our yard and I have learned to be thankful for the shade that they provided in the summer, in my back yard it is at least 20% cooler. So I smile and enjoy cleaning them up when I have to. Reply

Plenty trees . . . make a forest A forest is much more than only 'plenty trees'. In ancient times the planet Earth was covered with 16 Million square kilometers of forest. Now only approx 6 mio.
Considering that each tree produces timber wood, because water evaporates 'in a certain relationship' to the quantity of wood dry mass, each forest contributes a lot to the climate.
An oak tree evaporates 345 tons of water for each ton of wood. Reply

The correct Hebrew name of the holiday is Tu BiShvat. Because there is a shva under the shin, the prefix is bi not b'. Reply

Fruit from Israel I have eaten a lot of fruit sent to the US from Israel. It has been wonderful.

Thank you to the trees. Reply

Torah trumps science (again) I have a small orchard, and recently I was taught by an expert to feed my trees in late January. Gee - a nice meal and a blessing does sound like a great way to start the year, for both tree and farmer. Reply

the Pine Tree The pine is an evergreen that doesn't drop its needles as do leaves that are deciduous in fall. I always think of pine in terms of what we pine for, as in the English term for longing that is tinged with sorrow. As in a memory of someone beloved who has departed. So in the vision above, which I come to now, my take on this, and this is surely, always personal, is that the beautiful man can represent G_d, or something very beautiful, as in good. And no, the tree remains, and will remain, as evergreen itself seems to connote this, Ever Green. And so for memories, for what we pine for, and so for that very pointed tree, that stands tall, towards sky, and is also redolent of forest with its deep fragrance of pine cone, and needles. We need EL. And EL needs us.

In autumn in New England the splendid change of color in the trees is such that I raced to a tree some years ago, and hugged it. Then I flung myself on my bed inside, crying with the beauty of that tree, and that day in its splendor Reply

The Dream Perhaps you have followed Torah teachings, studied long and hard, overcome weaknesses and reached a level of spirituality that surprises even you. Yet, you fear that temptation and persons that you may be drawn to could influence you to err in your ways. Being concerned about this says that you are probably more developed than you may realize and perhaps you should listen to that voice within. Everybody faces the same fears and challenge from day to day. You're not alone in this. Reply

Tu B'Shevat I am so feeling this holiday. I still talk to trees, a joy brought forth from my childhood when my gradfather and I would go to the park to get spring water. We would talk to the trees and birds and flowers--and name them. Those were joyful days of childhood.
This holiday, Tu B'shevat is a beautiful tribute to the L-d's bounty. Be blessed. Reply

Tu B'Shevat When does it actually start? sundown night before?? Reply

Many years ago the L-rd show me a vision. In the vision I saw and understood that I was a giant of a tree from the pine family. It was the biggest tree I have ever seen, reaching very high up towards the sky.
A beautiful man came along. I asked him if he was going to cut the tree down. I was worried. After a pause he said "no".
I have never fully understood that vision. Perhaps some of the readers might, so I shared it. Reply