Tu BiShvat
About Tu BiShvat
Tu BiShvat means the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is commonly called the New Year for Trees.
Unlike Passover or Sukkot, Tu BiShvat was not established as a festival in the Torah. It began as a date used by Jewish teachers to apply biblical laws concerning fruit trees, tithes and agricultural years.
The date served as a kind of shared birthday for trees. Fruit produced before and after this point could belong to different years for purposes of Jewish law.
Over time, Tu BiShvat became much more than an agricultural calculation. Jewish communities began eating fruits associated with the land of Israel. Jewish mystics later created a special Tu BiShvat seder.
In modern times, the day has also become associated with planting trees and caring for the environment. A practical calendar date has therefore grown into a celebration of trees, fruit, land and creation.
Origin
Tu BiShvat developed from the agricultural laws of the Torah and their later interpretation by Jewish teachers.
Leviticus gives special rules for fruit from newly planted trees. Fruit from the first three years was not to be eaten. The fourth year had a special holy status, and fruit could be enjoyed normally afterward.
Other biblical laws required portions of agricultural produce to be set aside as tithes. These laws created a practical question. Farmers needed to know which year a particular crop of fruit belonged to.
The rabbis therefore established a new year for trees. The Mishnah records a disagreement about its date. The school of Shammai chose the first of Shevat, while the school of Hillel chose the fifteenth.
The view of Hillel became the accepted practice. The fifteenth of Shevat became known as Tu BiShvat.
Biblical Basis
There is no biblical command to celebrate Tu BiShvat.
Its background comes from several Torah laws concerning trees and their fruit.
Leviticus 19 gives rules for the fruit of newly planted trees. Deuteronomy contains laws concerning agricultural tithes. These commands required people to distinguish one year's produce from another.
The Torah also gives fruit trees special protection. Deuteronomy 20 tells Israel not to destroy fruit trees unnecessarily during a siege.
Other passages celebrate the abundance of the land God gave Israel. Deuteronomy describes a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive trees and honey.
Tu BiShvat grew from the need to apply these biblical agricultural laws. The festival customs themselves developed later.
Explore This Festival
Open any topic below for additional history, observance, customs and Scripture.
Jewish Meaning
Tu BiShvat connects Jewish life with the land and the natural world.
Its agricultural origin reminds worshipers that food does not simply appear in a market. Fruit depends upon soil, rain, seasons and years of growth.
The day also creates a connection with the land of Israel. Eating fruits associated with the land has allowed Jewish communities living far away to maintain a symbolic connection with it.
In modern times, Tu BiShvat has gained another meaning. Many Jews use the day to think about human responsibility toward creation.
Trees are especially powerful symbols because they join the present with the future. A tree planted today may provide fruit or shade for people many years from now.
Tu BiShvat therefore encourages gratitude for creation and responsibility for what is passed to future generations.
Jesus and the New Testament
Tu BiShvat is not mentioned in the New Testament, and there is no evidence that Jesus observed it as a festival in the form known today.
The agricultural world behind Tu BiShvat, however, is very familiar in the teaching of Jesus.
Jesus often spoke about trees, fruit, seeds, vineyards and harvests. These images were drawn from the everyday world of the people who heard Him.
He spoke of trees being known by their fruit. He told parables about sowing seed and waiting for crops. He also used the image of a fig tree on several occasions.
These teachings are not references to Tu BiShvat. They do show why trees and agricultural images were so natural and meaningful within the biblical and Jewish world.
Christian Relevance
Tu BiShvat helps Christians better understand the agricultural setting of the Bible.
Many biblical laws assume a society in which people understood planting, harvests and the long wait for fruit trees to mature. Those details can easily be missed by modern readers.
Trees also appear throughout Scripture as symbols of life, blessing and human character. The Psalms compare a faithful person to a tree planted beside water. The prophets use fruitful and barren trees as powerful images. Jesus continued to use these familiar pictures in His teaching.
The modern environmental themes of Tu BiShvat should not simply be projected backward into the Bible. They are later developments of the observance.
Still, the festival can remind Christian readers of a deeply biblical truth: the natural world is God's creation, and human beings have a responsibility to use its gifts wisely.
Why It Matters
Tu BiShvat shows how a practical rule connected with biblical agricultural laws could develop into a meaningful Jewish observance.
The Torah contains several laws concerning fruit trees and their produce. Jewish teachers needed a way to determine when one agricultural year ended and another began. The fifteenth of Shevat became that dividing point for trees.
Over many centuries, the day took on new meanings. Jewish mystics developed a special meal centered on fruits. Modern observance often celebrates the land of Israel and care for the natural world.
For Christians, Tu BiShvat provides a useful window into the agricultural world behind many biblical laws and images. It also reminds us how often Scripture uses trees, fruit and harvest to speak about human life and faithfulness to God.
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