Signification
and celebration of the Feast of Tu Bish'vat
טו בשבט
The
love of Israel for his land and the rooting in the Torah!
Tu
Bish'vat,
טו בשבט,
is the abreviation for the Hebrew date of the 15th
of the month, Sh'vat. The vav
ו
has the value of six (6) and the tet ט
nine
(9) making the total of the two l5.
It
is, according to Jewish tradition, the New Year of the trees and
the rejoicing celebration for G.od's wonderful creation.
Mishna
Rosh Hashanah I, 1:
« There are four New Year dates. The first of Nisan is
the New Year of the kings and of the pilgrimage feasts. The first
of Elul is the New Year of the tithing for the cattle(.) The first
of Tishri, the New Year for the years, the shmita and the Jubilee,
for the harvest and the vegetables.(.) The 15 of Sh'vat , the
New Year for the trees. »
This
feast is rooted in the Torah with many customs added since the
exile of the Jewish people, far from their land.
It
was at this time that the Jews brought the tithing of their produce
to the Temple:
"Tell
the L'vi'im, 'When you take from the people of Isra'el
the tenth of the produce which I have given you from them as your
inheritance, you are to set aside from it a gift for ADONAI, one
tenth of the tenth. Numbers 18:26
Tu
Bish'vat
was also the date for the counting of the years, for the planting
of the trees and the eating of the fruits:
"'When
you enter the land and plant various kinds of fruit trees, you
are to regard its fruit as forbidden--for three years it will
be forbidden to you and not eaten.
In
the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, for praising ADONAI.
But
in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that it will produce
even more for you; I am ADONAI your God. Leviticus
19:23-25
Since
the Jews cannot bring the offering of the First Fruits, it has
become a tradition on that day, to offer a sacrifice of praise
to the Creator of the universe:
Through
him, therefore, let us offer God a sacrifice of praise continually.
For this is the natural product of lips that acknowledge his name.
Hebrews
13:15
This
time was a time for tithing and thus a time for giving to the
poor.
The
Talmud teaches us that the custom was to plant a cedar tree for
a boy's birth and a cypress tree for a girl's. The children took
care of their respective trees until the time of their wedding(s),
when both of the trees were then used for building the chuppa
(wedding canopy).
The
tree is also the symbol for the birth of the State of Israel.
Many trees were planted in the land fulfilling the prophecies:
"'When
you enter the land and plant various kinds of fruit trees, Leviticus 19:23
Since
the 16th century, we celebrate a Tu Bish'vat Seder, as well as the one for Pesach,
where we drink four cups of wine.
Different
types of fruits are eaten, especially the seven species of the
Land of Israel:
-
- Wheat
-
Barley
-
Fig
-
Pomegranate
-
Grape
-
Olive
-
Date or honey
During
this Seder, we explain why we celebrate this feast and
the guests are invited to ask questions.
Apart
from the agricultural aspect, this Feast speaks of the Redemption.
There
were two trees in the Gan Eden (paradise), the Tree of
Knowledge and the Tree of Life. By eating the forbidden fruit,
man lost his place and rank in the earth.
We
need to be fed by the fruits of the Torah which is the Tree of
Life:
She
is a tree of life to those who grasp her; whoever holds fast to
her will be made happy. Proverbs
3:18
By
being rooted in the Word we can bear fruit and take our rank back
in G.od's plan:
He
will be like a tree planted near water; it spreads out its roots
by the river; it does not notice when heat comes; and its foliage
is luxuriant; it is not anxious in a year of drought but keeps
on yielding fruit. Jeremiah
17:8
This
Tree of Life, this Torah, alludes to the Germ, tzemach,
to
the Machia'ch Who will bring back the exiled of His people and
establish Peace on earth:
"There
is coming a man whose name is Tzemach (Sprout) צמח.
He will sprout up from his place and rebuild the temple of ADONAI.
Zachariah 6:12
Since
the renewed covenant, made with the sacrifice of Yeshua,
all those who have acknowledged Him as their Lord have been grafted
into the olive tree, the symbol of Yisra-El. Yisra-El
also draws his root from the Tree of Life and the Living Torah:
Yeshua Ha Mashia'ch
ישוע המשיח
It
is only by being grafted into this olive tree that is Yisra-El
and who is "the people of Isra'el" (they were made God's children; the Sh'khinah has been
with them; the covenants are theirs, likewise the giving of the
Torah, the Temple service and the promises; the Patriarchs are
theirs; and from them, as far as his physical descent is concerned,
came the Messiah, who is over all (Romans
9:4-5)), that we will be able to receive the full blessing
and the richness of this root that sustains us and makes us grow
in His knowledge:
But
if some of the branches were broken off, and you - a wild olive
- were grafted in among them and have become equal sharers in
the rich root of the olive tree.Romans
11:17
May
it be our prayer in this day of Tu Bish'vat, that Yisra-El,
the Prince of G.od be grafted again and draw from this Tree
of Life so that they might fill the earth with fruit and bring
us this 'resurrection from the dead":
The
time is coming when Ya'akov will take root; Isra'el
will bud and flower and fill the whole world with a harvest.
For
if their casting Yeshua aside means reconciliation for
the world, what will their accepting him mean? It will be life
from the dead! Isaiah
27:6 Romans 11:15
Celebration
of the feast:
The
Feast of Tu Bish'vat will be celebrated this year on:
Monday
evening, January 24th, and all day Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Decorate
a nice table with branches and flowers
Red
and white wine or grape juice
Fruit
trays
Seeds
for planting: we usually plant parsley for the coming Pesach Seder.
You
can visit this website for an in-depth description on how to celebrate:
http://www.aish.com/holidays/tu_bshvat/last/seder2.htm
We
wish you a Happy Tu Bish'vat Feast! May you be grafted and strongly
rooted in Him!
Chag
Sameach!
חג
שמח
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are
from the Complete Jewish Bible Copyright © 1998-2004 by David.H.Stern.
Published by Jewish New testament Publications.inc. www.messianicjewish.net/jntp
Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources International. All rights
reserved. Uses by permission.
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