|
The Torah indicates that the LORD loves trees. For example, consider some of the rules for a military campaign:
When you besiege a city for a long time... you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that they should be besieged by you? (Deut. 20:19)
Notice that the phrase, "are the trees of the field human..." (i.e., כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה) suggests that since trees are unable to flee the city and escape they should be shown mercy. In other words, God cares about the trees of the field and does not want them needlessly destroyed (this ethical principle became embodied in the environmental law called bal tashchit (בַּל תַּשְׁחִית), "do not destroy"). Other verses further indicate God's love for trees and the environment (e.g., Psalm 1:3, 92:13-16, 96:11-13, Isa. 55:12, etc.).
When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, Tu B'Shevat served as the day the first fruits of the trees that had turned four years old were offered (Talmud Tractate Rosh Hashana).
In the 17th century the Kabbalists of Safed developed a special seder (service) based on their interpretation of כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה, which they read as "For man is like the tree of the field." Four cups of wine are drunk during the seder, with varying percentages of red and white wine, representing the shifting of yearly seasons. And since the Torah particularly praises seven crops - wheat, barley, grapes, figs, olives, dates, and pomengrates - samples of each of these "species" are eaten during the seder as well. The "Tree of Life" is one of the key metaphors in Kabbalistic thinking, being a symbol of both man and the Torah.
Finally, with the rise of Zionism in the late 19th century, Tu B'Shevat was rediscovered as a celebration that links the Jews with their land. The holiday became one of planting new trees to beautify the land of eretz Yisrael.
|
