Tu BiShbat is a popular commemoration that is celebrated on the 15th of the month of Shebat. Its origin goes back to the Mishnah: at the beginning of the Rosh Hashanah treatise, it is mentioned that, according to the opinion of the Hillel school, the “Rosh Hashanah of the trees” (the new year of the trees) is on this date.

The discussion among the sages of the Mishnah regarding the “new year of the trees” has a legal background: it is the day that is used as a limit to count how old the fruit of a tree is and, in this way, to know if a certain fruit corresponds to one type of tithe or another. It is a technical legal matter.

Tu BiShbat is not a binding or obligatory holiday. In fact, it is not a celebration established by the Torah or by the Sages. It is not even a moment of joy or rejoicing. It is merely a date that was marked to count the “birthday” of a tree and ,in this way, calculate certain legal obligations related to food. However, over time, people gave new meanings to this date.

One of the customs that became popular is eating fruits, especially those that are part of the seven species that the Hebrew Bible relates to the Land of Israel. We refer to wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. These cereals and fruits are typical of the Land of Israel. For this reason, they were the only ones on which the precept of delivering the first fruits to the Great Temple of Jerusalem falls, as a way of expressing thanks and gratitude to the Creator for the land and its production.

Nowadays, especially in Israel, this date is taken as a time to create awareness about the environment and the care of ecosystems. A noble practice that is done is planting trees.