Tu B’Shevat – New Year of the Trees

January 30, 2010 · Filed Under Baum's Blog 

Today is Tu B’Shevat – the New Year of the Trees.  Yes, trees get their own celebration of the new year – but they don’t wear party hats or stay up until midnight.  According to the Mishnah (Jewish text codified around 200 CE), there are four Jewish New Years – Rosh Hashanah, Tu B’Shevat, a new year for kings, and a new year for animal tithes.

Rosh Hashanah is by far the most observed Jewish new year, followed by Tu B’Shevat.  Recently, Tu B’Shevat has become a bit like Jewish Earth Day – a chance to think about things like recycling, global climate change, and sustainability.  Frankly, connecting Tu B’Shevat to the environment (and before that to Israel) has helped keep the holiday popular.  Some people even enjoy a Tu B’Shevat seder (meal with a special order, just like there is a seder on Passover)- sampling different kinds of food and drinks from nature.

I have to say that other than teaching about Tu B’Shevat – I don’t usually mark it in any major way.  But there is something nice about the holiday – reminding us that it is not only people who get renewed each year – but the environment around us.  And we can all do a part in making sure that we support our environment’s development and sustainability – just as we focus on our own.

Happy New Year!

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