15 Shevat Video

What it really means that the 15th of Shevat is the New Year for Trees.

A gathering celebrating the New Year for trees includes insights into the special theme of this holiday.

In addition to the regular Rosh Hashanah, the mishnah teaches that there are actually four different Rosh Hashanahs (New Years) on the Jewish calendar: the new year for kings, for festivals and for trees. (Based on Likkutei Sichos vol. 36.)

Can the New Year for Trees be a time for reflecting on the mitzvah of taking care of our health? Learn more about the meaning of Tu B’Shevat, and some of the health and healing properties of the fruits mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8: “A land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs and pomegranates; a land of oil-yielding olives and [date] honey.”

After tracing the origins and relevance of the New Year for Trees, Rabbi Kaplan explores the special significance of the bitter olive and its profound symbolism for us to persevere and flourish as Jews.

The Mishnah enumerates four different New Year dates pertinent in Jewish law—one being the 15th of Shevat. Learn the Talmudic definition and legal relevance of these Rosh Hashanahs.

Discover soul stirring insights into the incredible energy and significance of this little understood day known as the New Year for Trees! Learn why we celebrate a special Rosh Hashanah for trees and its profound relevance to us today.

Our proverbial New Year for Trees is celebrated by most Sephardic Jews (and more recently by many Israelis of Ashkenazi descent as well) with an elaborate fruit-centric sacred ceremony colloquially known as the “Tu B’Shevat Seder.” It’s comprised of carefully choreographed chanting of Scripture and Rabbinic texts, accompanied by an assortment of fruit and wine, which are consumed in an orderly fashion. But why invoke unique Passover verbiage for this fruitful observance? This fascinating presentation sheds light on some of the origins and profound meanings of this enigmatic Torah tradition.