The Halachic Significance of
T”U B’Shevat
for Those Who Reside in the
Diaspora
R. Yaakov Bieler
Parashat BeShalach, 5769
One of the most well-known songs
associated with T”U[1]
(the 15th of) B’Shevat begins, “T”U B’Shvat Higia, Chag
HaIlanot”[2]
(the 15th of Shevat has arrived, the holiday of the trees.”
However, to refer to this day as a Chag (a joyous festival) appears to fly in
the face of the true nature of the day, in accordance with the first Mishna
of Rosh HaShana:
Mishna
Rosh HaShana 1:1
There
are four Roshei Shanim (beginnings of the year)…
On
the first of Tishrei is the Rosh HaShana for the”years” (i.e.,
the beginning of the secular year;[3]
the commemoration of the Creation of the world, which is also known as Yom
HaDin [the day of Judgment]—see VaYikra
23:24-5; BaMidbar 29:1-6) and the Sabbatical years (VaYikra
25:1-7) and the Jubilee years (Ibid., 8-13), and for planting (to calculate the
years of Arla—Ibid., 19:23) and for vegetables (with respect to giving
the tithe of a tenth—Devarim 14:22-3)…
On
the first of Shevat, the Rosh HaShana for the tree, in accordance
with the words of Beit Shamai.
Beit
Hillel says: On
the fifteenth of the month.
The
assumption that even a Rosh HaShana for trees is a day of judgment along
the lines of the first of Tishrei is developed by the following popular
commentator in his book on the significance of the days of the Jewish year:
R.
Eliyahu KiTov—Sefer HaToda’ah (Machon LeHotzoat
Sefarim, Yerushalayim, 1969,) p.
213.
…Rosh
HaShana for the tree is also a time for prayer and judgment for the tree.
For this is the approach of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, that at the beginning
of the sprouting/flowering of every one of His Creations (Tishrei
therefore marks the day of judgment for the Creation in its entirety including
that of man), He Surveys all of its times/deeds to the end of its life, and
therefore this is a time for prayer regarding its success. And the Tora
compares man to a tree (Devarim 20:19). Therefore this day is a day of
judgment for man as well since he is compared to a tree. And this is the nature
of this nation that they rejoice even on their day of judgment, however the
judgment turns out, as long as everyone sees that there is “Yeish Din
VeYeish Dayan” (a Law and a Judge.) And because
R. KiTov
notes that the same ambivalence that Jews feel at the beginning of Tishrei—we
eat festive meals and dress in Yom Tov clothing; yet we do not recite Hallel
since no individual is assured that s/he will be inscribed in the Book of
Life—is appropriate on T”U B’Shvat as well. Consequently, referring to
this day as a pure “Chag” is not in keeping with Jewish tradition. It is for
this reason that the joy of the day is ritually manifest only in the deletion
of Tachanun[4]
and LaMenatzeach from the regular prayers, but nothing further. We
celebrate the advent of the spring season in
Just as one can draw a significant
inference when distinguishing between a “Chag” in contrast to a “Rosh
HaShana,” the commentary Benai Yisachar innovatively hypothesizes
about another aspect of the aforementioned Mishna:
Benai
Yisachar (cited
in R. Avraham Yitzchak Sperling, Sefer Ta’amei
HaMinhagim U’Mekorai HaDinim, Eshkol, Yerushalayim,
p. 370, #866.)
The
reason why the Tanna in the Mishna said, “On the first of Shevat,
the Rosh HaShana for the tree (singular; as opposed to the more
grammatically correct “Ilanot”) in accordance with the
words of Beit Shamai. Beit Hillel says: On the fifteenth of the
month,” in the singular, and he didn’t say, “trees” as in the
other cases[5]
(cited by the Mishna), this is to hint at the tradition that we have
received from our teachers to pray on T”u B’Shevat for the Kosher and
beautiful Etrog that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, will Prepare for me at
the time of the fulfillment of the Mitzva. This is the day when the sap
begins to flow in the trees, and it will do so in accordance with the merit of
each member of the Jewish people. How good and appropriate for a person to pray
on that day when the first foundations of the blossoming are establishes, that
God will Appoint for him at the necessary time a fruit from a beautiful tree…
Benai
Yessachar’s
insight draws attention to the idea that each individual has a unique
relationship with those plants that provide him with his personal needs, be
they related to his physical or spiritual sustenance. As another cycle begins
for fruit trees, we should realize that it entails our being judged and that
just as on Rosh HaShana itself, the manner by which to change less than
optimal decrees is via Teshuva, Tefilla and Tzedaka[6]
(repentance, prayer and charity.)
However, both the interpretation
that T’U B’Shevat should be treated as a Day of Judgment as well as the
opportunity to pray that the upcoming year’s crop should be successful and
personally satisfying as well as fulfilling, appears to still miss the basic
point of the Mishna that we have been discussing. R. Shimshon Rephael
Hirsch casts this occasion in terms of the various agricultural
responsibilities placed upon those who farm the
Collected
Writings of R. Samson Raphael Hirsch,
Vol II, The Jewish Year: Part II,
And
when Nature in her bounty shakes her now ripened products into the bosom of
expectant man and his possession and enjoyment begin, Arla[7]
and Chadash[8]
preach self control…
And
when you put the sickle to the corn, when you shake the fruit-laden trees and
cull the rich grapes from the vine, then “love” comes up to you saying, “Do not
take all for yourself, leave a corner of the field to the poor,[9]
leave a branch of the tree to the poor,[10]
leave to the poor what falls from your hand,[11]
what you have forgotten,[12]
banish from the start to think lovingly of the poor and needy, the widows and
the orphans, to whom God has assigned their harvest in the field of your heart…
The
fruits of the earth are brought by three processes to the final condition of
nourishment of man: Nature ripens them in the field, human labor stores them in
the granary, and domestic preparation fits them for the table. In each of these
stages you stand quietly nd dedicate the first thing that comes to fruition to
the source of all blessing and the goal of all ripeness; in the form of Bikurim,[13]
Teruma[14]
and Chala[15]
you dedicate your field, your work, your table to your God and His Holy Word…
At
the same time too you remind yourself tht the goal and consummation of your
physical existence also is only in the service of God and the fulfillment of
His Law. Hence no “whole”, no “ten” on Jewish soil can be set aside exclusively
for physical enjoyment. Ma’aser, one tenth, a full one out of ten, a
full tithe of all ripe produce brought into the granary, was devoted to the
maintenance of the tribe whose task it had become to guard the Divine Spirit in
Israel, which was to be the standard bearer of “virtue and light”, and “which
had without fear of consequences to stand up for God, to guard His Word and
keep His Covenant. (Ma’aser Rishon).[16] The first tithe belonged to the spirit in
In
every third and sixth year of the septennial cycle this second tithe instead of
being consumed by the owner, was given up wholly to the poor, the widows and
orphans and needy in the country, Ma’aser Ani.[18]
The question to which year any particular product belonged was decided
according to whether it had germinated before or after the 15th of Shevat,
the fixture of which in the calendar has led to these observations.
Having the opportunity to observe
these various Mitzvot is presented by the Talmud as the reason why Moshe
was so desperate to enter the
Sota 14a
R. Simlai interpreted:
Why did Moshe our Teacher desire to enter the
Whereas R. Simlai
was using Moshe as a foil for reminding Jews throughout the ages how precious
we should consider any opportunity to engage in carrying out God’s Will, our
living in Chutz LaAretz (outside of the land of Israel) not because life
in Israel is terribly difficult and dangerous as it once may have been,[19] but because of all sorts of
personal reasons, not only challenges the extent of our Zionism, but also the
degree to which we are truly interested in fulfilling all of the Commandments
of the Tora, including the Mitzvot HaTeluyot BaAretz (Commandments
dependent upon the land of Israel) that R. Hirsch cited above. Even when in the
Diaspora we have the opportunity to perform some of these Commandments, e.g.,
we find in the supermarket produce that comes from
But even
residents of
Collected Writings, pp. 321-2.
In our Diaspora-life outside of
How splendid are the results of this single Jewish
practice! Every Jew who is in the least independent has a charity fund to
dispose of. Certainly it is only his own money, but still it does not any
longer belong to him, and it is his only in so far that he has the sole and
exclusive right of disposing of it. He therefore welcomes every opportunity of
doing some good with the charitable fund which has been entrusted to him, and
is his only to be laid out. He gives to suffering humanity what in any case
already belongs to it, and his only thought is to spend the sums entrusted to
his hands, whether large or small, in the most beneficent manner possible...
While we
may have all sorts of wonderful associations with T’U B’Shevat in terms
of eating Israeli fruits and even participating in Sedarim that
highlight the beauty and bounty of the Holy Land, we would be remiss were we
not to keep in mind the true significance of the day—its association with the
institution of supporting the poor and other charitable causes as a reflection
not only of our generosity, but an acknowledgement of how God is Responsible
for all that we have and are.
[1] “Tet” = 9; “Vav” = 6; ==15.
[2] “Googling” this sentence in Hebrew results in any number of Hebrew sites containing these words.
[3] The
Jewish year with respect to the order of the Festivals—Pesach, Shavuot,
Sukkot—begins with the month of Nissan, during which the Exodus from
[4] See e.g., Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chayim 131:6.
[5]“LaMelachim”, “LaRegalim”, “LaShanim” “LaShmitin”, “LaYovlot”, “LaYerakot” in contrast to “Ilan”.
[6] From the liturgical poem “U’Nesaneh Tokef” recited on Rosh HaShana and Yom HaKippurim.
[7] VaYikra 19:23.
[8] Ibid. 23:10-14.
[9] Ibid., 19:9.
[10] Ibid., 10; Devarim 24:20-1.
[11] Ibid., 9.
[12] Devarim 24:19.
[13] Devarim 27:1-11.
[14] BaMidbar 18:8.
[15] Ibid., 15:20.
[16] VaYikra 27:30; BaMidbar 18:21, 24.
[17] Devarim 14:22.
[18] Ibid. 14:28-9; 26:12.
[19] See Tosafot Ketubot 110b, d.h. Huh Omer LaAlot VeChulai.
[20] See Siddur Minchat Yerushalayim Kol Bo HaShalem, pp. 1024 ff.
[21] E.g., http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-medi-terumos.htm http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/common/article/separating_terumah/
[22] R.
Hirsch died in 1888, and his collected writings were first published in German
in 1902, well before the establishment of the State of Israel. Nevertheless the
Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Raphael_Hirsch
) states that it would appear from his
communications with R. Zvi Hirsch Kalisher that he believed that resettlement
of
[23] Aruch HaShulchan, Yoreh De’ah, Hilchot Tzedaka, 249:1
The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch have written the amount that a person should give (as charity), if a person can afford it, he should give in accordance with the needs of the poor, which is explained in Siman 250. And if he cannot afford such an amount, he should give up to 1/5 of his property as the optimal fulfillment of the Mitzva. And 1/10 is the amount that should be given standardly to fulfill the Mitzva. If one were to give less, it reflects “Ayin Ra’ah” (cheapness.) And this 1/5 that we have stated, the first year it should be derived from the principle, and following that 1/5 of interest or profit…