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CENTER ALIGNED IMAGE--> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="4" BORDER="0" ALIGN="center"><TR> <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td> <TD><IMG SRC="images/Tu B'Shevat.jpg" width="300" height="300"></TD></TR> </TABLE> <!--END CENTER ALIGNED IMAGE--> </p> <!--BEGIN SECTION BODY--> <p class='bodytext'> <font color="blue"> <i>When you come to the land and you plant any tree, you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years it will be forbidden and not eaten. In the fourth year, all of its fruit shall be sanctified to praise the L-RD. In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit.</i> -Leviticus 19:23-25<br><br> <i>There are four new years... the first of Shevat is the new year for trees according to the ruling of Beit Shammai; Beit Hillel, however, places it on the fifteenth of that month. -Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1</i> <br><br> Tu B'Shevat is the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat. It is a holiday that is frequently known as the New Year for Trees. The word "Tu" is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew letters. <br><br> Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. It is written in Lev. 19:23-25 that fruit from trees may not be eaten during the first three years of the tree's life. The 4th year's fruit is for G-d, and after that, we can eat the fruit. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B'Shevat, so if you planted a tree on Shevat 14, it begins its 2nd year the next day, but if you plant a tree two days later, on Shevat 16, it does not reach its 2nd year until the next Tu B'Shevat.<br><br> Tu B'Shevat is not mentioned in the Torah. The Mishnah says that Tu B'Shevat is the new year for trees, and that there is a dispute as to the proper date for the holiday The followers of Shammai said Tu B'Shevat was the 1st of Shevat while the followers of Hillel said Tu B'Shevat was the 15th of Shevat. We follow Hillel. <br><br> One custom on Tu B'Shevat is to eat a new fruit, or to eat from the Seven Species described in the Tanach as being abundant in Israel. The 7 species are: <b><i>wheat, barley, grapes (vines), figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates (honey) </b></i> -Deut. 8:8. Some people plant trees on this day. <br><br> In the 16th century, kabbalists, developed a seder ritual conceptually similar to the Pesach (Passover) seder, discussing the spiritual significance of fruits and of the 7 species. This custom spread primarily in Sephardic communities, but in recent years it has been getting more attention among Ashkenazim. Tu B'Shevat is more widely celebrated in Israel than in the United States. In Israel, there are Tu B'Shevat seders, along with school field trips and outings to plant trees. <br><br> This year, Tu B'Shevat falls on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.<br><br> </p> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b><a href="#top"><center><font color="red"> Go back to the top of the page</center></a></b> <!--END SECTION BODY--> <!--BEGIN CENTER ALIGNED IMAGE--> <!--TABLE CELLPADDING="0" BORDER="0" ALIGN="CENTER"><!--TR> <!--TD><!--IMG SRC="spacer.gif" WIDTH="6" HEIGHT="1"><!--/TD> <!--TD><!--IMG SRC="images/Mahzor.jpg" alt="Kol Nidre Service from new Mahzor" width="329" height="230"><!--br><!--br> <!--center><!--small><!--b>b<!--/b><!--/small><!--/center><!--br><!--br> <!--END SECTION BODY--> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD> <TD WIDTH="3"><IMG SRC="spacer.gif" WIDTH="3" HEIGHT="1"></TD> </TR></TABLE> <!--end body--> <!--Begin Footer--> <TABLE WIDTH="574" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" BORDER="0"> <TR><TD HEIGHT="3"> <IMG SRC="table_bottom.gif" WIDTH="574" HEIGHT="3"><BR> </TD></TR> <TR><TD> <IMG SRC="spacer.gif" WIDTH="574" HEIGHT="30"><BR> </TD></TR> </TABLE> <!--End Footer--> </BODY></HTML>