Tu biShvat (ט"ו בִּשְׁבָט)

A man doesn't plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity. ~Alexander Smith

Good morning!

For my very first "real" post, I decided to talk a bit about a Jewish holiday, minor indeed, but equipped with a very nice meaning! I have been learning Hebrew since the end of October; in my opinion, you couldn't get implied in a -new- language if you don't try to know more about the culture. So, let's talk about Tu biShvat!  

Herman Yuchtman: Konigssee

 Tu biShvat (ט"ו בִּשְׁבָט) actually means "The New Year of the trees and the fruits", occuring on the 15th day of Shevat, the fifth month in the Jewish calendar: that's why it was previously called Hamisha Asar BiShvat (חמשה-עשר בשבט), in others words "Fifteenth of Shevat". In 2012, it will be celebrated the 8th of February, in the Occidental calendar.

As the Jewish law forbids the fact of eating fruits from a tree during the first three years after its planting, Tu biShvat is the ideal date to calculate the age of these trees: this is considered as their birthday.
We hear about this point of the celebration only in Israel, but everywhere in the world, Jews eat dried fruits from the Land, orange and carob as well as the Seven Species: olive, oil, wheat, barley, fig, date and pomegranate.Tu biShvat is a way to bless the fruits by reading verses from the Bible about their trees and their role in the human life.


Tu cut the story short, Tu biShvat is a joyful day, without fast and funeral oration; a day where Mother Earth is finally thanked for her gifts.
Happy Tu biShvat!