According to the Hebrew calendar, there are four new years, each with a different purpose. According to Hillel’s school, Tu B’Shvat is the new year of the trees (Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:1). This is something rather technical, related to the count of tithes: it is the day used as the limit to count how old the fruit of a tree are and, in this way, to know if a certain fruit corresponds to a type of tithe.
There is also a popular custom (not obligatory) of eating the seven fruits of the land of Israel (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates).
We can also take this opportunity to reflect on caring for the environment. As the Torah mentions during the creation of the human being, we each have a mission: to work and take care of the environment (Genesis 2:15). Preserving God’s creation is a joint effort. It is time to look for ways to link ourselves in a sustainable way with the environment, considering future generations. It is not our responsibility to finish the task, but we are not free to abandon it either (Pirkei Avot 2:16).
Time is short. God summons us to a change. “If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? (Pirkei Avot 1:14). Let us stop acting selfishly; let us think of our neighbor and of future generations. Let us act now. Environmental damage exists and only we can stop it.
