Tu BiShvat: The New Year for Trees in Halacha and Custom

The 15th day of Shvat was established as the New Year for Trees, marking the beginning of a new agricultural year. This means that until Tu BiShvat it was one year, and from Tu BiShvat onward it is another year. The renewal of the year on Tu BiShvat relates to commandments concerning trees and their fruits, such as the law of tithing where one cannot tithe from the fruits of one year for the fruits of another year. Similarly, it applies to other tree-related commandments: orlah (forbidden fruit of young trees), revai (fourth-year produce), terumot (offerings), and bikkurim (first fruits).

Tu BiShvat in the Sabbatical Year

Everything that grows from the ground in the seventh year, whether from seeds that fell into the ground earlier, or from roots that were cut before and regrew, are called 'aftergrowths.' When the Torah says, "You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest," it means not to harvest in the usual manner of the entire year, which is to harvest the entire field and thresh with cattle. But when one harvests a little at a time, beats it and eats it - this is permitted. All this is according to Torah law, but according to rabbinic law (words of the Sages) all aftergrowths that grow in the seventh year are forbidden to eat.

These aftergrowths of the seventh year remain forbidden even after the seventh year ends, until Chanukah of the eighth year, and only from Chanukah onward are they permitted, as explained in the Rambam's Laws of Sabbatical and Jubilee Years 4:6.

There is a dispute whether we begin counting the prohibition of the seventh year for tree fruits from the 15th of the seventh year until Tu BiShvat of the eighth year, or whether it begins from the first of Tishrei of the seventh year until the first of Tishrei of the eighth year.

The Custom of Eating Fruits on Tu BiShvat

The custom of eating fruits on Tu BiShvat was prevalent only among Ashkenazi Jews and was almost entirely unknown in Sephardic communities. The earliest source for this custom is found in the year 1564 - about 450 years ago. The first to mention it was Rabbi Yissachar ben Shoushan, one of Morocco's sages who settled in Safed, who recorded in his book not only the customs of his own community but also added customs of other communities he found in Safed. He wrote: "Shvat... the 15th day is the New Year for Trees. Therefore, we do not fall on our faces in prayer nor do we fast on this day. And the Ashkenazim, may Hashem protect them, have the custom to increase various fruits of trees etc." Following him, the Magen Avraham (Section 131:16) wrote: "The Ashkenazim have the custom to increase various fruits of trees."

A complete revolution in this matter occurred in the 1800s, when the author of the book "Chemdat Yamim" innovated the customs of the holiday on his own initiative and composed a special booklet called "Pri Etz Hadar" (Fruit of the Splendid Tree). This was despite not finding support for it in the writings of the Arizal and his disciples, from whom he generally drew in all matters. Those who studied his book explained that he envisioned this holiday as bringing an influence of the spirit of the Land of Israel, capable of awakening longing, and he established a special ritual for this day, accompanied by a festive meal of thirty types of fruits from the Land of Israel, with blessings and prayers for each fruit, along with studying verses from the Bible and passages from the Mishnah and Zohar relevant to trees.

The meal and study established by the author of Chemdat Yamim quickly spread to all Jewish communities in Italy, Turkey, and the Balkan countries, and in all countries from Bukhara in Central Asia to Morocco in North Africa.

Rabbi Chaim Palagi, Chief Rabbi of Izmir, in his book Mo'ed L'Kol Chai (Section 30), mentions the custom of his city and wrote: "On the night of the 15th of Shvat, the New Year for Trees, most Jewish communities have the custom to arrange on the table all fruits of the tree and fruits of the land that one can afford, and each person blesses on one fruit. The man blesses on wheat after the Grace After Meals, 'He will satisfy you with the finest wheat' (Psalms 147:14), so that he will have abundant sustenance. The woman blesses on the grape, as it is written 'Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine,' and the son on the olive - 'Your children like olive shoots around your table.'

Pomegranate and nut for his daughters, referring to 'All the glory of the king's daughter is within,' just as the seeds of the pomegranate and nut are found in a modest place, so too the man's daughters behave modestly. Honey and apple for infants, referring to 'Under the apple tree I awakened you.'

Rabbi Shai Amar is a rabbi in the Halacha department of Hidabroot

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