Known as Tu B' Shevat, this day marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.

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We praise the bounty of the Holy land by eating grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. We mark the 15th of Shevat by remembering that "man is a tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19), and think about what we can learn from our botanical analogy.

 

In ancient times, the 15th of Shevat was simply a date on the calendar that helped Jewish farmers figure out when to bring their fourth-year harvest of fruit to the Temple as first-fruit offerings.

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The Tu B'Shevat Seder

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The 16th century Kabbalists of the city of Safed, in the Land of Israel, created a new ritual to celebrate Tu B' Shevat, called the Feast of Fruits. Similar to the Passover seder, participants would read selections from the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic literature, and would eat fruits and nuts traditionally associated with the land of Israel.

 

Almonds have a prominent place in the Tu B' Shevat seder, since the almond trees were believed to be the first of all trees in Israel to blossom. Carob, also known as bokser or St. John’s bread, became another popular fruit to eat on Tu B' Shevat, since it could survive the long trip from Israel to Jewish communities in Europe.

 

Participants in the seder would also drink four cups of wine: white wine (to symbolize winter), white with some red (the coming of spring); red with some white (early spring) and finally all red (spring and summer).

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On this day it is customary to partake of the fruit with which the Holy Land is praised (Deuteronomy 8:8): olives, dates, grapes, figs and pomegranates. If tasting any of these fruit for the first time this season, remember to recite the Shehecheyanu blessing. (A blessing recited on joyous occasions, thanking G‑d for "sustaining us and enabling us to reach this occasion.)

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