By Dr. Devorah Okin

This Sunday night marks the start of Tu B’Shvat, the “New Year for the trees.” I grew up attending a Tu B’Shvat seder at my synagogue in Los Angeles each year, in which we enjoyed fresh and dried fruits in a set order, with special prayers said before eating each item. It was very exciting (when else could I eat only fruit for dinner?), and as I grew older, I came to appreciate the deeper meaning of the holiday, as well.

The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 1a) indicates that there is a connection between Tu B’Shvat and the mitzvot to separate tithes from produce and abstain from harvesting fruit in the first three years after a tree was planted. Produce is to be tithed in a tiered system (described in Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 14). Different tiers supported non-landowning Leviim and Kohanim, and, depending on the growing year within the seven-year shemittah cycle, were either to be consumed by the farmer in Jerusalem or given to the poor. According to the Talmud (ibid.), the cutoff date for each growing year was established as Tu B’Shvat.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (on Deut. 14:22, trans. Levy, 1966) explains that the tithes are meant to remind us of how we should direct our material means, such as money and resources: spiritual learning and pursuits (represented by the tithe to the Leviim and Kohanim, who served in the Beit Ha’Mikdash and were otherwise expected to be teachers of Torah); necessary care for oneself (represented by tithe which the farmer was to eat and enjoy in Jerusalem); and care for others (represented by the tithe to the poor). Rabbi Hirsch suggests that these areas – spiritual pursuit and growth, care for one’s own needs, and care for others – be especially prioritized. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Even Ha’Ezer 4 §26.4) extrapolates the tithing requirements to include tithing of one’s time, especially for the mitzvah of teaching others Torah. According to Rabbi Feinstein’s position, one should not only calculate and donate a specified portion of their income to charity but do the same with one’s time, ensuring that teaching and helping others is not only a value to which lip service is paid, but a deliberate action to help others.

Bringing these positions together, Tu B’Shvat is more than just an opportunity to enjoy some fruit, plant a tree, and appreciate the wonders of Creation, although these all are important activities. As winter thaws into spring and trees begin to blossom (at least in Israel, and presumably other places far from snowy Buffalo!), Tu B’Shvat is a time to take stock of our values and how we express them, and to consider whether our actions are truly the fruits of our intentions. Do we allocate significant amounts of time and resources into our religious growth and care for others – both those within our family and close circles and those whom we don’t know well? Is there room for improvement in how we allocate our money and attention?

Wishing everyone a joyous, delicious, and meaningful Tu B’Shvat!

Devorah Okin, PhD, is a clinical psychologist at Gateway-Longview and the rebbetzin of Young Israel of Greater Buffalo.