Hello Everyone,
The fifteenth day of the month of Shvat ( which will fall on February 6, 2023) is referred to as ראש השנה לאילנות- the “New Year of the Trees” in the Halachic literature. This “New Year” was originally not a celebration of trees. Rather in the Gemarah it was more of a demarcation. Tithes were calculated on the basis of when a tree blossomed . Fruits of one year may not be grouped with fruits of a different year for purposes of tithing, and the “tithing year” begins on the fifteenth day of Shvat (next week I hope to discuss how this date came to be chosen). But later on, especially among the circle of the Kabbalists and even later in the nascent Zionist movement the fifteenth day of Shvat became a minor holiday known by the acronym “Tu B’Shvat.”
Now that care for the environment is so critical Tu B’Shvat is perhaps an appropriate time to think about trees, deforestation and related subjects.
So today and next week we will talk about what the Halachic literature says about care for the environment.