On Jan. 25, many Jews in Wisconsin will be celebrating Tu B’Shevat, literally: the 15th of the month of Shevat. Tu B’Shevat is also known as Rosh HaShanah L’Illanot — “the New Year for the Trees.”
In the 20th century, Tu B’Shevat became immensely popular largely as a secular holiday in Israel relating to the resettlement of Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel.
Referring to a biblical passage (Deuteronomy 20:19) that can be translated: “a person is a tree,” early Zionists used the planting of trees as a symbol of repatriation.
The 15th of Shevat, which rabbis of the Mishnah had decided marked the “new year for trees,” became a national celebration in Israel. [Editor’s note: It also became and is still a holiday meaningful to the Jewish National Fund, which is involved in afforestation and land reclamation in Israel.]
When the world became aware of the environmental crisis in the 1960s, celebration of Tu B’Shevat took on a decidedly ecological tone. For the Jewish environmental movement, the holiday affords a wealth of eco-sensitive teachings.
Much of contemporary consideration of this holiday centers on centuries of commentary and legal deliberations on Deuteronomy 20:19. This verse introduces the commandment of baal tashchit — do not destroy — which specifically applies to fruit trees found outside a city under siege by the Israelites.
But the Torah gives a peculiar rationale for the law. It reads, “Ki ha’adam eitz ha’sadeh,” which can be literally translated: “A person is a tree of the field.”
Because the phrase “a person is a tree” can be inverted to mean “a tree is a person,” rabbis through the centuries have made legal rulings relating this theological concept to baal tashchit. There are numerous examples of rabbis relying on this phrase to make legal rulings preventing any unnecessary harm to fruit trees.
Moreover, through the centuries rabbis expanded the meaning of baal tashchit to include needless destruction of any kind of tree or vegetation and even of objects like clothing, fabric and vessels. Moreover, many classical rabbinical figures prohibit needless waste because it violates baal tashchit.
One Talmud passage makes the inefficient burning of olive oil a violation of baal tashchit (Tractate Shabbat 67b). This ruling is applied by Jewish environmentalists to arguments concerning the inefficient combustion of fossil fuels and the related public health issues and global climate change — one of the most grave of crises facing the human race today.
A growing body of supporting literature being collected by the Jewish environmental movement makes it clear that Jews are commanded not to destroy the earth. But more than that, that Jews are responsible for nurturing, sustaining and protecting Creation.
Many of the most revered rabbis of all time were radical in their conservation of resources and their concern with needless waste.
Today, Jews are as likely to associate Tu B’Shevat with environmentalism as with the Land of Israel. Many now contribute money to environmental organizations to mark the day.
It is also increasingly more common to take part in a Tu B’Shevat Seder and a local ecological project in observance of the day. There is no formal seder for this holiday but most are modeled after the Passover seder and include eating a variety of fruits, especially fruit grown in the land of Israel.
If you are interested in hosting a Tu B’Shevat seder on the evening of the 24th, visit the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life website, www.coejl.org, to download a seder. You might also try visiting the Canfei Nesharim website, at www.canfeinesharim.org.
A wonderful tradition around Tu B’Shevat is to resolve to plant a tree in the spring in your own locality. Check your municipality for tree planting programs.
Chris Herb of Madison is a member of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim and president of the Wisconsin Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign.
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