Tu B’Shvat is the Jewish New Year for fruit trees. It’s a day to celebrate the new fruits of the season and to remember our connection to the earth. But why do we celebrate a new year for fruits? How is Tu B'Shvat still meaningful today?

The Jewish New Year for Trees

In modern times, Tu B’Shvat has become a somewhat environmental holiday, incorporating planting trees and respecting nature. Interestingly, the calendar year is not simply a function of Rosh Hashanah, the most famous Jewish New Year. The Mishnah states that there are actually four different New Years, each used for a different area of law.

The New Year for trees, according to the dominant opinion, is the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shvat. In gematria – a Hebrew system that gives numerical values to letters – Tu (or ט״ו in Hebrew) is the equivalent of 15, hence the name "Tu B’Shvat."

In Hebrew, Tu B'Shvat is also referred to as "Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot," which translates to "New Year of the Trees" in English. Tu B’Shvat in 2020 falls on February 9th at nightfall and continues until sunset on February 10th.

This specific date was chosen because it’s the time of year when most of the year’s rain has already fallen (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 14a). According to the Talmud, the rainy season in Israel starts a few weeks before Tu B’Shvat. When Tu B’Shvat arrives, enough rain has fallen to make the soil fertile and the trees able to bear fruit.

If a fruit grows before Tu B’Shvat, that fruit probably drew its nutrients from last year’s rain, and so we legally see it as last year’s fruit. But if a fruit grows after Tu B’Shvat, we legally see it as this year’s fruit.

In Jewish law, the calendar has implications in a number of legal domains. The validity of a contract depends on an accurate date; animals’ ages affect their eligibility for sacrifice, and tithes can’t be taken from batches of produce grown in different years. Tu B’Shvat affects a number of laws related to produce, such as Ma’aser, Revai, and parts of the Shemittah cycle.

The Biblical History Behind Tu B'Shvat

The significance of this day is related to the Bible’s agricultural commandments (although Tu B'Shvat holiday is not specifically mentioned in the Bible). According to the Bible, you can’t just plant trees and eat their fruits.

There are many laws that dictate how farming and harvesting produce need to be carried out. For example, there’s a mitzvah called “orlah,” which states that fruit may not be eaten from a tree during the first three years of the tree's life.