How Trees Keep Us Rooted in Tradition

Tu B'Shvat

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Tu B’Shvat, or the 15^th (ט"ו) day of the month of Shvat, is the date declared by Beit Hillel to be the Rosh Hashana of the trees (first Mishnah, Rosh Hashana). In Israel, many people participate in a customary planting of new trees on this day, in tribute to the new year of the trees.

Aside from planting trees, the most well-known practices of Tu B’Shvat are the prohibition to fast, the omitting of Tachanun, and the eating of fruits from the land of Israel.

            

Not as well known is the custom to host a Tu B'shvat Seder, similar to the seder of Passover, with fruit being the focus of the evening.  Sources for this custom are kabbalistic in nature. A simple google search of “Tu Bshvat seder” will give you all the information you can want about how to run this event.

            

On the surface it seems to be a simple holiday – ‘Ra Ra – Happy New Year, trees! Did you come up with your New Year’s resolutions? Gonna lose the weight? Gonna buy the new car?’

            

However, the symbolism of the tree and the significance of the holiday shows us how deeply rooted in tradition (pun intended) we ought to be.

Rabbi Yitzchak Mirsky, in Hegyonei Halakha, focuses on the symbolic connection between man and tree as a focal teaching point regarding this day.

            

On a simple level, one must care for a tree just as one would care for a person. When it is sick, take care of it. Feed it, nurse it back to life.

            

On a national level, Mirsky claims the trees of the land of Israel made a pact with the Jewish people as they were being exiled, because of the way Jews had treated the trees of the land. The trees said that as long as the Jews are out of the land, they will remain desolate and not bear fruit. Once the Jews return, the trees will once again bear fruit. History has proven this to have been true.

            

On a deeper level, the Torah says in Devarim 20:19 that a human being is a tree. While the meaning of this verse is cryptic, the symbolism is clear.

            

For a tree to survive, it needs strong roots. The roots constantly need replenishing; if there is no water the tree dies. But if the tree is provided with its sustenance, the tree can grow big and strong and become quite beautiful and bear delicious fruit.

            

Such is the human condition and the Jewish condition. A Jewish life is steeped in tradition, the roots. It is this tradition that must be replenished and constantly strengthened and restrengthened. A Torah way of life has been the backbone (the water) for Jewish tradition for millennia.

While the fruits we bear may most obviously be our children, they may also be the ideas we learn and teach to others.

Perhaps the symbolism of the tree is the true "Rosh Hashana experience" we all need to reaffirm our commitment to God on this special New Year day.