Tu B’Shvat

Tu B’Shvat celebrations in Bnei Brak in 5700 (1940)

Customs of Tu B'Shvat

The Tu B'Shvat Seder directly influenced the customs of Jews in both Israel and in the Diaspora.

In Salonika, Greece, it was customary to put on special plays in Ladino in which children dressed up as trees, and each tree sang it song accompanied by a choir.

In Aleppo, Syria, they read the "Ten Commandments" in the synagogue on the eve of Tu B'Shvat. According to the text of the Tu B'Shvat seder that was celebrated there, and prayers were over, they would return home for a holiday meal that consisted entirely of fruit.

In Kurdistan - they ate as many fruits as possible, and they would send each other plates with thirty kinds of fruits on them. Jewish streets in Kurdish cities would look the same on Tu B'Shvat as on Purim with children running from house to house with trays of dishes in their hands, and more.

Tu B'Shvat in Israel - In the Diaspora, Tu B'Shvat is just a date on the calendar...but it is different in the place where the spirit of Judaism can develop as it pleases! It places us in the vast nature, a place where man will use his powers in a brave alliance with nature, and place his powers and forces under the blessing and protection of G-d. Fields are our natural destiny. May we be able to return to the simplicity of village life, carried by the Divine Spirit of Israel, because then simplicity and peace, modesty and love of man, humanity and joy, enthusiasm and happiness will be our lot. The sound of David's violin would be heard again , and again Ruth would find the paths to the blessed field of Boaz…                                                                     

(Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsh, Around the Year)

Children of the Talmud Torah in Bnei Brak plant a tree on Tu B’Shvat

A Tu B’Shvat celebration the Bad Reichenhall DP camp

Manifestations of Hidden Powers in Nature

One of the chassidic giants in Hungary was Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Kaliv. When he was a boy, he socialized with the sheep and cattle until he was discovered by Rabbi Leib Scharhas, (one of the students of the Baal Shem Tov) and later he rose and ascended to lead the "flock" of holy people.

And so it was: one day it was hinted to Rabbi Leib Scharhas, that in a certain city there is a wonderful child, and he must discover him and guide him in the ways of life. He took his bundle and reached that city. He considered his steps, and decided to go out into the field and rule in his mind how to discover the child prodigy that was filled wiht light. Suddenly he heard the music of shepherds that stirred his heart. Raising his eyes, he saw in the distance, in the folds of his brow, a boy with beautiful eyes, overseeing a flock of geese, playing his flute and the geese gathered around him, surrounding him with love. Rabbi Leib Scharhas approached the herd and his flock, inclined his ear, and was very excited, "Here he is." He entered into conversation with the shepherd boy and heard from his mouth the words and the melody, which he had learned from the gentile shepherds, and they revolved around the sights of nature, and the thoughts of the shepherd's heart:

"Forest forest how great you are,

Rose rose how far you are

If only the forest was smaller,

The rose would be closer to me,

And if he took me out of the forest, we would both be together."

And it was that innocent boy who put a holy spirit into the music, and inserted words that have a message of salvation and the hope for redemption.

"Exile exile how long you are

Shechina (G-d's presence) Shechina how fare you are

If only the exile was shorter

And if only we were taken out of exile

The two of us would be together"

Rabbi Leib Scharhas took the boy and nrought him to the yeshiva of Rabbi Shmelka of Nikelsburg and the days did not last long, and that boy rose higher and higher until he became known as Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Kaliv.

(Nature and Faith in Chassidism, Betzalel Landau)

The portion of learning for Tu B’Shvat

Grade 8 students at the Talmud Torah Rabbi Akiva school of Bnei Brak planting a tree on Tu B’Shvat. In the back stands the principal, Rabbi Zalman Koritz and the teacher Rabbi Yerucham Karlenstein

A Tree of Life – In the Concentration Camp

This is a simple story about a young woman whose death I witnessed in a concentration camp. This young woman knew that she was going to die in a few days. But when I talked to her she was in a good mood, despite her knowledge. "I am thankful for my fate that I was afflicted with these blows." She told me, "In my previous life, I was pampered and I was not serious about spiritual achievements." She pointed her finger out the window of the shack and said: "This tree here is my only friend in my loneliness." Through the window she could see only one branch of a chestnut tree, and on the other branch there were two buds. "Many times I talk to this tree," she told me. I anxiously asked her, did the tree answer her? "Yes". What did the tree say to her? She answered: "He told me, "I am here - I am here - I am life, eternal life."

(Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning)

The Pri Etz Hadar (Citrus Fruit) holy book

A decorated plate with the words “Borei pri ha’etz” (blessed is the fruit of the tree) on it. Used for serving fruits from trees on Tu B’Shvat

In the Children’s Home in Zabuze, Poland

Hundreds of youth, who grew up during the Holocaust in the homes of Christians and in monasteries, were educated in the children's home in Zabuze.

The teacher, Mr. Huvel recounts: I arrived at the institution on the night of Tu B'Shvat. It was a winter night. I told the children about the almond tree that is now blooming in the Land of Israel, and I slowly saw their eyes light up… for the Tu B'Shvat next year, I prepared a play in three acts. The first act - the holiday of Tu B'Shvat in Poland. The second act - Tu B'Shvat in the ghetto during the war. And a third act was dedicated to the holiday of Tu B'Shvat in the Land of Israel, it gave a lot to the children.

(The Book of Holidays)

Residents of the young Bnei Brak plant saplings on Tu B’Shvat

Rabbi Zelig Schapira tithes the first crop of citrus fruits in Bnei Brak