Tu BiShvat (tú bish'vat) is a Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. And, as you may have guessed, Tu BiShvat means "the 15th of Shevat." The holiday is also known as Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot or "New Year of the Trees."
There is no requirement for a festive meal for Tu BiShvat, as you'll find with other Jewish holidays. But, some Ashkenazi Jews (Jews from Eastern Europe) make a point of eating fruits, especially fruits from Israel, on that day. The tradition even includes a special seder, or ritual-meal, of fruits.
In his Book of Customs, Scott-Martin Kosofsky writes,
"The Kabbalists of sixteenth-century Safed instituted a special Seder for Tu b'Shevat, based on the mystical idea that eating a variety of fruits can bring about a correction of sin of having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge."
While there's no guarantee of that level of spiritual success, Sephardic Jews (from Morocco and Spain) do believe it's worthwhile to observe Tu BiShvat by staying up all night to study passages from the Bible, Talmud*, and Kabbalah** that relate to fruit.
The "fruit" of Tu BiShvat became a bit more concrete with the advent of the Zionist movement*** about a century ago. Back on the land that bore them, Jews came to see Tu bi'Shvat as less of an opportunity to undo the sins of Adam and Eve, and more of an Arbor Day, with Israeli schoolchildren planting trees to help make the "desert bloom." In contemporary Israel, the day is dedicated to ecological awareness, much like Earth Day here in the U.S.
That said, trees still hold more than just environmental significance to Jews. Trees are powerful symbols of life, even eternal life. In fact, it's considered a mitzvah (a good deed) to plant trees in Israel to commemorate loved ones who have died. To do so on Tu BiShvat is especially fitting.
Planting a tree that will someday provide life-giving oxygen, shelter, and sustenance is akin to planting a future. And, with so much death and calamity all around us, planting our future is exactly what we need to do. May this New Year of the Trees bring hope and renewal to the Earth and to our souls.
* An aggregate collection of rabbinic writings that expound on Jewish law and life.
** A tradition of mystical ideas extrapolated from Jewish texts.
*** A nationalist movement and ideology that asserts the rights of Jews to self-determination on their indigenous land.