The fifteenth of the
Jewish month of Shevat is designated by the Mishna (Rosh Hashana 1:1) as the
new year of trees. It is important to the Biblical prohibition against eating
fruit from a tree that is less than three year old and the mitzvahs concerning
annual tithing. The halacha does not number the years starting from the date
the tree was planted. Rather it counts the years like the grade in grade school
which allows for a slight range of ages.
Concerning tithes there
is a seven year cycle. In four of the years the tithes are given to the Levites
to support their Temple service. Two of the years the tithes are set aside for
visits by the owners to Jerusalem or to support a member of their family who is
residing in Jerusalem. In the seventh year all land is considered as ownerless
therefore no tithe is taken. To distinguish between one year and another, the
fifteenth of Shevat is set as a cut off.
Concerning orlah i.e.
the fruits of a tree less than three years old, there are three dates relevant
to its calculation, the fifteenth of Av, the first of Tishre, and the fifteenth
of Shevat. The fifteenth of Shevat is the midpoint between the shortest day of
the year marking the start of winter (winter solstice) and the day in which
there is twelve hours of light and twelve hours of night marking the start of
spring (spring equinox).
On the average Tu
b’Shevat is the coldest day of the year. The seasonal cold, which starts in the
autumn, causes many types of trees (deciduous) to go into hibernation. When the
weather starts to become warm, especially after a season of rain, the trees
come back to life. They will then bud and produce fruit.
The first of Tishre,
which is also the first day of fall, is designated as the new year of “tree
planting”. The commentaries (see the Bartenura on Mishna Rosh Hashana 1:1)
explain that if the tree is rooted for at least 30 days then the first of
Tishre is its first birthday. However, a newly planted sapling takes two weeks
for it to take root. It comes out that the cutoff date is 45 days earlier or
the fifteenth of Av. Tu b’Av is coincidentally the middle of summer and on the
average the hottest day of the year.
While it’s possible to
plant trees in the summer it’s a poor time to do so because the strong heat
dries them out. It is impossible to plant a tree in the frozen ground typical
in the winter. After the heat of the summer has turned to moderate autumn
temperatures one can also plant a tree provided the winters are mild and there
is no concern of a harsh frost. Generally though, the ideal time to plant a
tree is in the spring and late winter. Therefore, when Tu b’Shevat is
approaching, it is appropriate to consider planting trees.
The Jewish calendar,
though, is primarily lunar with a solar correction. This means that Tu b’Shevat
and all of the other dates are often not precisely aligned with the solar
phenomena. For example the earliest day Passover can fall is the first day of
spring i.e. March 21. However it has fallen within the last century as late as
April 25. In fact there is a debate in the Mishna with Beit Shammai saying that
the new year of trees is two weeks earlier on the first of Shevat. At times
this will be closer to the day when trees come out of hibernation.
The use of the three
dates tends to simplify the reckoning of the time of orlah as well as being a
bit lenient. For example most trees will be planted around the month of Nissan.
About six months later the first of Tishre will fall and all of these trees
will be considered one year old, and the following year two years old, and the
next year three years old. However the fruit will still be orlah until the
fifteenth of Shevat falls. The result is that the tree will typically be a
little less than three years old from the time it was actually planted. The
calculation is a little elaborate but it’s better than keeping a record as to
when each and every tree was planted. If somebody does plant a tree in the late
summer or the fall, the tree may be as much as three years and six months old
before the fruit is no longer considered orlah. It comes out that there is a small
penalty for planting a tree at a time other than the ideal one. However, this inconvenience
is outweighed slightly by the lenient situations.
It comes out that the
Torah encourages a person to live in harmony with the physical world and tends
to be kind and mild. A person will have to use his brain a bit, but it is not
onerous. In addition just like the laws of Tu b’Shevat bring us to peace with
our surroundings while making us a little bit wiser and hardworking, so to is
the general way of the faith.
לע"נ, הסבא ,אהרן בן יוסף ז"ל
נלב"ע כז טבת תשכ"ו
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