TORAH VEHA'ARETZ RABBI MOSHE BLOOM INSTITUTE BY www.toraland.org.il/en
Seder Tu BiShevat— No Dried Fruit Please!
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u BiShevat, the New Year for Trees, is a day of halachic significance as far as orlah, neta revay, and terumot and ma’aserot are concerned (for instance, the transition from ma’aser sheni to ma’aser ani this year). The 17th century kabbalists of Safed instituted a Tu BiShevat Seder, which involved eating fruit from the Land of Israel. The desire to eat fruit on Tu BiShevat that was not necessarily available in the market during the winter is why people purchased dried fruit. In addition, Jewish communities in the Diaspora who wanted to eat fruit from the Land of Israel generally needed to order dried fruit, since it took a long time for the fruit to arrive. For these two reasons, the custom developed to eat dried fruit on Tu BiShevat. Today even Jews living abroad can purchase fresh fruit from Israel, which is preferable to dried fruit. The point 60
TORAH TIDBITS / B'SHALACH 5780
is to eat fruit from the Land of Israel; it’s unnecessary to buy dried fruit that wasn’t grown in Israel. Even when buying fresh fruit in Israel, note that some of the fruit available in the supermarket is imported from different countries. We recommend that for the Tu BiShevat Seder, one look specifically for fruit grown here in the Holy Land by Jewish farmers. Many mitzvot were performed with these fruit: orlah, neta revay, separating terumot and ma’aserot, and ensuring that they are not kilei ilan (grafted in a forbidden fashion), and if grapes, not kilei hakerem (grapevines planted near or above annual crops). Using fruit grown in your garden, after performing the special land-dependent mitzvot with them, is the ultimate hidur. Wishing you all a happy Tu BiShevat! Check out our interactive Tu BiShevat Seder on our website: www.toraland. org.il/en/beit-midrash/articles/around-thejewish-year/tu-bishevat/digital-seder-tubishevat/
