Tu B'Shvat in Israel (My First!)

Today was the Jewish holiday, Tu B'shvat——the 15th of the Hebrew month Shvat——referred to in the Talmud as the "New Year for the Trees" because it's the date used for calculating the beginning of the agricultural cycle (for the purpose of biblical tithes involving trees and fruit).

Outside of Israel, this holiday often passes barely noticed, languishing in the realm of the minor holidays.  However, in the Land of Israel, every Jewish holiday is an important one, and Tu B'shvat is celebrated as a major reason for rejoicing, accompanied by different customs.  For example, here in Israel it's customary to partake of a feast of fruits (a.k.a. the Tu B'shvat Seder!) that was first instituted by the famed 16th century kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Tsfat.

Additionally, it's become a time to plant trees in Israel: the Jewish National Fund (JNF) organizes tree-planting activities across the country.  This custom took particular significance this year in the wake of the destructive fire that consumed over 1 million trees in the Carmel Forrest a few months ago in Israel's north.  Below is an advertisement from the JNF that was widely distributed throughout Israel, encouraging donations to help replant of Carmel's forrest.

It feels very special as a new immigrant to Israel to be in Israel on Tu B'Shvat.  For one thing, you end up celebrating a Jewish holiday that is improperly neglected outside of Israel.  More than that, however, Tu B'Shvat these days is all about planting trees, i.e. creating roots, and as an oleh hadash in his first year here, that is exactly what I am doing.  I am settling in the Land of Israel, every moment trying to plant my own family's roots here, as we make Israel our new home.

I especially felt a lot of pride when my son (pictured below) planted his first tree today in Israel, in front of his school.

Dvar Torah: Why Jews Always Dance in a Circle (Bnei Yisaschar)

As mentioned in my dvar torah post about Tu B'av, one of the themes of Tu B'av is love and unity amongst Jews with each other.

Dvar Torah: Tu B'av - Celebrating Love and Unity (Mei Hashiloach)

"No days were as joyful for the Jewish people as Tu B'av" - (Taanis 26b)

"...we need to "chop" and cut all barriers away that divide the Jewish people" - Mei Hashiloach

6 Joyous Events Happened on Tu B'av

The gemara lists 6 joyous events that happened in Jewish history on the date of Tu B'av which cause us to celebrate this holiday. The Mei Hashiloach (Reb Shlomo Carlebach's favorite sefer) explains that the common theme between all of these events are love and unity:

• amongst Jews with each other and


• between Hashem and the Jewish people;

Here is the list of the 6 historical events and how they demonstrate the aforementioned theme of love and unity:

Event 1: No More Deaths In The Desert

On each Tisha B'av of the 40 years of the desert, anyone who turned 60 would die. This was because of the Hashem's decree after the sin of the meraglim that all men would die during the 40 years in the desert. In the 40th year, on Tisha B''av, no one died. The Jewish people thought that maybe they were mistaken about the date for Tisha B'av and prepared for the deaths to come the next day. On Tu B'av, when the full moon had appeared, the Jews of the desert knew that Tisha B'av had definitely passed and Hashem's decree had ended. This demonstrated the loving unity between Hashem and the Jewish people.

Events 2 & 3: Ban Lifted on Intermarriage

Originally, the 12 tribe of Israel were only allowed to intermarry with each other. This ban only applied to the original members of the dor hamidbar who died in the desert and thus, the ban was lifted on Tu B'av of the 40th year in the desert. Similarily, there was ban to marry into the tribe of Binyamin after the episode of the "Concubine of Giv'ah) (Shofrim 19-21). This ban was lifted during on Tu B'av. The lifting of the bans created increased amongst the Jewish people.

Event 4: The Ability To Go to Jerusalem Again

Tu B'av is the day that Hoshea ben Elah removed the guards from roads leading to Jerusalem, and Jews were allowed to once again go to the Bais Hamikdashn and participate in the Shalosh Regalim. This event also increased the unity amongst the Jewish people.

Event 5: The Jews of Beitar Were Allowed To Be Buried

After the Romans conquested Beitar, they did not let the corpses of the Jews who died during the conquest to be buried for 7 years (miraculously, the bodies did not decompose). After 7 years on Tu B'av, the Jews were permitted to bury the bodies of these deceased. The Jews being allowed to bury their dead showed the Hashem once again was showing favor to the Jewish people. Similarly, by burying their bretheren, the Jews were able to demonstrate the loving kindness for each other.

Event 6: The Jews stopped cutting down trees for the Mizbeach's Aish

The Mei Hashiloach teaches that the celebration of having enough wood for this mizbeach teaches that we need to "chop" and cut all barriers away that divide the Jewish people.

(source: Artscroll's A Daily Dose of Torah)