Tu biShvat Seder

There   are   four   (Halachic)   New  Years ... the first of Shvat is the new year for trees, in   the   opinion   of  the  House  of  Shamai. The House of Hillel says: on the fifteenth of the month                                                         Mishna, Rosh haShana 1:1

          Tu biShvat is the date which determines to which year of the Shemitta cycle fruit belongs. (In the first and second, fourth and fifth years, ma’aser sheni [the second tithe, to be brought to Jerusalem and eaten within the walls of the Holy City] is given. In the third and sixth years of the seven year cycle, ma’aser ani, [the tithe for the poor] is given.) Thus, it has been suggested that Tu biShvat essentially is the crucial date for “tax” purposes.

          The custom common in Israel of eating all types of fruits, including imported dried fruits, misses the point of Tu biShvat. The day has significance only in relation to mitzvot hatluyot baAretz (laws which pertain to the Land), therefore only fruits grown in Israel are appropriate for Tu biShvat.

          There is a custom, which apparently originated with the Kabbalists of Zefat, to hold a Tu biShvat Seder. The Seder features six of the seven species for which the Torah praises the Land of Israel: the five fruits (grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates), as well as wheat. While wheat is not a tree, our Sages refer to it as such.  In the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 70b), the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge Good and Bad (Genesis 3:6) was wheat!

          The Seder includes verses and comments of our Sages on the significance of each of the fruits.

          Following are brief examples, which are included in our Seder Tu biShvat.

Olive: Jeremiah [11:16] says: “The Lord called your name a leafy olive tree, fair with goodly fruit...” Our Sages comment that just as the olive tree requires a long time to produce its fruit, but then produces copious quantities, so too is Israel. The Talmudic legend is that following the destruction of the Temple, when Abraham feared that his descendants would be lost forever, God quoted this verse to show Abraham that there is hope for his children’s future. [Menaḥot 53b] Thus, the olive represents optimism. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the Temple menorah was lit specifically with olive oil.

Date: Psalms [92:13] says: “The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree...” Rabbi Levi adds a comment: “just as the palm has but a single heart (the spine of the frond), so too Israel has but one heart (focused) on their Father in heaven”. [Babylonian Talmud, Sukka 45b] Thus, the date palm is the symbol of the unity of Israel and the centrality of God in its national life. In essence, having God as Israel’s focal point defines the verse in Psalms.

Grape: Isaiah [5:7] calls Israel God’s vineyard: “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel...” The great Talmudic sage Reish Lakish follows up on Isaiah’s metaphor. The nation of Israel is compared to a grape vine... the clusters of grapes represent the scholars, the leaves represent the amei ha’aretz (the uneducated). If not for the leaves, the clusters could not be maintained. [Babylonian Talmud, Ḥullin 92a] Thus, the grape vine represents the importance of each individual Israelite, even those who are unlearned.

Fig: Rabbi Ḥiyya says, quoting Rebbi Yoḥanan: why is Torah compared to figs? Just as a fig-tree yields its fruit whenever it is shaken (figs ripen over a lengthy period), so does the Torah always yield new teachings whenever it is repeated.  [Babylonian Talmud, Eruvin 54a] The fig thus represents the unlimited depths of Torah study.

Pomegranate: In the Song of Songs, King Solomon writes: “... your temples (rakatech) are like a pomegranate split open...” [4:3] Making a play on words, Reish Lakish comments “even the basest (reikanim) of you (Israel) are full of mitzvot as a pomegranate (is full of seeds). [Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a]

In parallel with his comment on the grape, Reish Lakish sees the pomegranate as well as the symbol of the greatness of even the ordinary Israelite.

          In summary, the fruits for which the Land is praised symbolize important lessons for the People of Israel: the unity of Israel, based upon devotion to God, the importance of each individual within Israel, optimism for Israel’s end and the tremendous value of Torah study. If we take these lessons to heart, Tu biShvat will be much more than a tree’s birthday.