Tu Bishvat

	caption	Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel
	color1	#3399FF
	color2	#3399FF
	color3	#3399FF
	holiday Name	Tu Bishvat
	official Name	Hebrew : ט"ו בשבט
	nickname	Translation: 15 Shevat New Year for Trees, Hamishah Asar BeShevat
	observedby	Judaism and Jew s
	date	15 Shevat
	observances	Eating Fruit s, Family gatherings, Reflection
	type	Religious
	significance	The fruits that grew from Tu Bishvat on were counted for the following year's Tithes
	relatedto	Rosh Hashanah , the new year for the Jewish Calendar
	date2006	February 13
	date2007	Feburary 3
	date2008	January 22
	date2009	February 9
	date2010	January 30
	date2011	January 20
	date2012	February 8
	date2013	January 26
	date2014	January 16
	date2015	February 4
	date2016	January 25
	date2017	February 11
	date2018	January 31
	date2019	January 21
	date2020	February 10

Tu Bishvat (or '''Tu Bi'Shevat''') (ט"ו בשבט) is a minor Jewish Holiday (meaning there are no restrictions on working) and one of the four '' Rosh Hashanah s'' ("New Years") mentioned in the Mishnah , the basis of the Talmud . Tu Bishvat is the ''Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot'' (ראש השנה לאילנות ) "new year of the Tree s". The name Tu Bishvat comes from the date of the holiday, the 15th day of Shevat (שבט). Shevat is the name of a Hebrew Calendar Month and ט"ו, read as "Tu," is how the number 15 is represented by Hebrew Numerals using the Hebrew Alphabet . Haredi Jews call the day by it's original full name, ''Hamishah Asar BeShevat'' (חמישה-עשר בשבט) - "The Fifteenth of Shevat".

s are derived from Grape s]]

HISTORY

In Mishnaic and Talmudic times, Tu Bishvat was originally a day when the fruits that grew from that day on, were counted for the following year regarding Tithe s. (This was according to the school of Hillel , while according to the school of Shamai that day is the first of Shevat (Mishnah, Tractate Rosh Hashana 1:1).

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During the Middle Ages or possibly a little before that, this day started to be celebrated with a minor ceremony of eating fruits, since the Mishnah called it "Rosh Hashanah" ("New Year"), and that was later understood as being a time appropriate for celebration.

During 1600s in the Land Of Israel , Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed and his disciples created a short ''Tu Bishvat seder'', somewhat like the Passover Seder , that evokes the holiday's Kabbalistic themes. There is a Hasidic tradition that on this day a devout Jew should pray for a Kosher Etrog (the Citron ) that is part of the Four Species of trees used on the major festival of Sukkot .

In modern times Tu Bishvat has become popular with many Jews, and is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Jewish schools, synagogues and communities.

CUSTOMARY FRUITS

It is customary to eat different types of Fruit on this holiday and to recite the Appropriate Blessings . Many people also eat all kinds of Dried Fruit as well, such as Raisin s and Nuts ,

Traditionally, these types of fruit are:

Foremost are the seven species associated with the Land Of Israel in the Torah , according to Deuteronomy 8:8 :

Wheat

# Barley
# Grape s
# Fig s
# Pomegranate s
# Olive s
# Dates

Fruits and Nuts with hard, inedible exteriors and soft edible insides, such as Oranges , Banana s, Walnut s, and Pistachio s.

Fruits and nuts with soft exteriors, but with a hard pit inside, such as Date s, Apricot s, Olive s and Persimmon s

Fruit that is eaten whole, such as Fig s and Berries .

Many have the custom of eating candied '' Ethrog ''.

In addition, Kabbalistic tradition teaches that eating these fruits somehow creates a connection with the more abstract Tree Of Life that God placed in the Garden Of Eden as mentioned in the Book of Genesis where Adam And Eve had been placed after their Creation .

FRUITS OF THE TORAH AND ISRAEL

Fruits to eat on Tu Bishvat that are associated with the Torah and the Land Of Israel :

Image:Ripe Grapesjpg

"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Grape" class="copylinks">Grape s

Image:Dates On Date Palmjpg

"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Date_Palm#Fruit" class="copylinks">Dates

Image:Figjpg

"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Fig" class="copylinks">Fig

Image:Olive-tree-fruit-august-0jpg

"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Olive" class="copylinks">Olive s

Image:CarobsJPGDried

"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Carob_tree" class="copylinks">Carob fruit, bottom, is a Tu Bishvat favorite, though not one of the seven blessed fruits of the Land Of Israel </gallery></center>

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Tu Bishvat