Contextualizing Tu BiShvat, the "new year for trees"

A Jewish holiday, also known as the “new year for trees,” will begin at sundown on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021.

This holiday will end at nightfall on the next day.

Originally, Tu Bishvat was not a Jewish holiday, rather this was marked as an important date for farmers back in ancient times.

The origin of this holiday started with the Torah (the five books of Moses) which states a forbidden law on the fruit harvest, for “three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten.”

In the fourth year, the fruit was to be offered to the priests as a gift of gratitude, and only in the fifth-year, all subsequent fruit will finally belong to the farmers.

That is how the 15th of the month of Shevat became a holiday, being established as a general “birthday” for all the trees.

This holiday acts as a reminder to all that it is a duty to take care of the natural world.