Tu b’Shevat
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Holiday Guide These pages contain sacred literature. Please do not deface or discard.
Holiday
Tu b’Shevat is the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat. The word “Tu” is the number 15 in Hebrew. It is a holiday known as the New Year of the Trees. This year Tu b’Shevat begins on the evening of February 10th and is celebrated on the day of the 11th. Under the full moon of this month, we celebrate this minor holiday that has been celebrated for hundreds of years.Tu b’Shevat is first mentioned in the Mishnah as a Rosh HaShanah - New Year for the trees. It is described in the Talmud as the day after which all fruit harvested would be included in the coming year’s calculations for the tithe, the ten percent of the harvest that Jewish farmers had brought to the Bet Hamikdash - Temple in Jerusalem. Tu B’Shevat is also referenced as the basis for calculating the age of a tree depending on whether it was planted before or after the holiday. The fruit from newly planted trees may not be eaten during the first three years. The fourth year’s fruit was to be dedicated to God and taken to the Bet Hamikdash - Temple in Jerusalem. After the fourth year one can eat the fruit from the tree (Leviticus 19:23-25).