Are you celebrating Tu B’Shvat ?

Wonderful photos

Today () is the festival of the New Year of the Trees – where we celebrate the goodness of the Land (trees and fruits) – and all things planted - that the Lord has given to us.

Tu B’Shvat isn’t a Biblical holiday, but this traditional Jewish holiday does have its roots (no pun intended) in the Torah from the book of Deuteronomy.

Planting a tree in "the Land" of Israel Ethiopian Jews planting trees

In Israel and around the world children and adults are planting trees and some even have a Tu B’Shvat seder (meal) reading Scriptures and Prayers, and Blessings. This year Tu B'Shvat falls on Shabbat (today), so in the synagogues there are many activities and prayers giving thanks to the Lord who has given us the wonderful Land of Israel and all its goodness.

Tu B’Shvat is literally a day of the month (15th of Shvat), and according to the rabbis it is the time stated in Deuteronomy when the people of Israel had to tithe unto the Lord the first fruits of their crops. (If the Lord leads you to give a gift to our ministry to reach Jewish people, click here)

“And it shall be to you when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first fruit of the produce of the ground which the Lord your God is giving you and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His Name abide.” (Deuteronomy 26:1-2)

Almond tree blossoming in Israel (left) and Dried Fruits from Israel (right)

According to the rabbis Tu B’Shvat is when the trees begin to draw nourishment from their sap, ushering in the new spring harvest season. That is why it is called the New Year of the Trees.

Many Israelis celebrate Tu B'Shvat by eating dried fruits of trees that grow in Israel such as almonds, dates, figs, raisins and carob.

Yeshua said: “I am the vine and you are the branches. If you abide in me you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me they are cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned.” ( 15: 5-6)

Today, has become a national holiday for the planting of trees, and in many places in Israel it is desolate, so it is very important that the country is replenished. It was started back in the late 1890s, south of Haifa, in the town of Zicharon Ya’acov, when a rabbi had his students plant trees.

Tu B’Shvat also reminds us in the Word of God how we are likened to trees (and remember we are dependent on trees for oxygen).

In Deuteronomy 20:19, it says: “man is like a tree of the field.”

Palm Trees at Ein Gedi by the Dead Sea (left) and Trees in the Garden of Gethesame where Yeshua (Jesus) prayed (right)

The Hebrew language shows the similarities between human beings and trees by using the same descriptive words (prichah, bloom), (hitpatchut, development), (tzmichah, growth), and (kimeelah, withering).

King David writes in the Psalms: And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, producing fruit in its season, whose leaf does not wither. And he will prosper in all that he does. (Psalms 1:3)

The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree; grow mighty like a cedar in Lebanon. (Psalms 92:13)

May this traditional Jewish holiday be a blessing to all of us as we remember the trees and fruits that he has given to us. When you pick up a piece of fruit today, remember to give Thanks to the Lord, for everything He has created is wonderous!

Many Blessings to you from all the staff at Bibles For Israel

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